NOVEL NEXT Chapter 679
Dark Heaven Village
I decided to find out where I was with the help of the Heavenly Mysterious Woman of Nine Heavens. She conjured the Corpse Dissolution Technique and immediately said,
[ This place is a very distant continent… ]
“… Even so, I don’t really understand…”
[ I’ll show you directly. ]
*Pa-at*
[ Around here. ]
The Heavenly Mysterious Woman eventually manifested an illusion shaped like a sphere and pointed to a part of it with her finger. It must have been a representation of this world. Since I had learned geographical and magical knowledge from the Zhuge Clan for quite a while, it wasn’t difficult to accept.
‘ Hmm. Indeed… This is the eastern part of the [Black Continent], further west than Cheon-chuk… Near the Great Meal Kingdom!’
The area around seemed oddly desolate, probably because it wasn’t far from the desert. The Great Meal Kingdom possessed a culture that was distinct from the West and Cheon-chuk, making it an odd place for the Central Plains people. I couldn’t help but be troubled about what to do.
The distance from the Great Meal Kingdom to the Central Plains is tens of thousands of li. Once, I had crazily run around, circling the continent from the Central Plains to the British Empire, but that was not even a distance that could be covered in a single day. Moreover, getting to the southern continent’s base that I needed to reach required even more distance. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it spans half the world!
Yet, there were only seven days left until the Dharma Guardian of the Wind Spirit Lineage was supposed to find me. If I kept running like this, not only would I struggle to arrive, but even if I did, it was likely there wouldn’t be much time left. Seeing me in a state of worry, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman asked,
[ Where are your companions? ]
“They might be around here but… it’s too far.”
[ Knowing the location is enough. Please be more specific about the place. ]
“……?”
Prompted by the Heavenly Mysterious Woman, I expanded a map of the southern continent, and soon she twirled her celestial garments and chanted a spell, wrapping my body in light.
*Pa-at!*
“Ah!”
In the blink of an eye, my body was now in a lush green area of the southern continent. Did I really move thousands of li in an instant? While it was something I had often done with Golden Lamp, it was astonishing to execute such a feat with magic.
Just then, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman used her magic again, and we swiftly returned to the southern village where we had been staying. It seemed she was quite adept at finding someone.
As we entered the village in search of Mangnyang and the Zhuge Clan, oddly, there were no signs of life in the building where we had been staying. I found it strange and called over the village chief to ask, but he looked flustered and said,
“Ah… no, who are you?”
“What happened? Where have my companions gone?”
The priestess and village chief of the Ma Buiag clan sighed deeply.
“I don’t know… haven’t you made it impossible for anyone to understand what you were doing among yourselves? However, a year after they returned from the Central Plains, all signs of life vanished, and your entire group suddenly disappeared.”
“What?”
I asked incredulously.
“Are you telling me to believe that?”
“Northern Ahnyan, knowing your mysterious powers and the immense strength of your companions, how could I lie about the safety of my clan? Your companions simply vanished overnight.”
“Didn’t you hear where they went?”
“I did not.”
“……”
Well, even if it were Zhuge Sa or Mangnyang, they wouldn’t report their every move to this southern Tianya tribe. There was no guarantee that enemies wouldn’t chase them here, and sometimes it was better to keep secrets.
‘ It must be because of the enemies, right?’
After I left for Dark Heaven Village, Zhuge Sa and Mangnyang had surely kept moving. Even though they probably assumed I hadn’t died, leaving hinted that there was a reason, and the motive to abandon a safe base would most likely be because they sensed a powerful enemy pursuing them.
I was in a state of unease while contemplating this when I suddenly gasped, startled enough to exclaim,
“Wait a minute. A year? What do you mean? Does that mean it’s been several years since I left this village?”
“I don’t know when you left. However, five years have passed since they returned from the Central Plains. It has been four years since they departed.”
“… Hmm.”
It seemed that after I left for Dark Heaven Village, my associates returned here, spent another year, and then left for somewhere. And since that was already four years ago— it had been five years since I left for the Otherworldly Realm of Dark Heaven.
Was the passage of time different between Dark Heaven Village and here?
Even the time spent in Dark Heaven didn’t seem to exceed three days, and it felt absurd to realize that three years had passed in an instant. However, I could calmly collect my thoughts, having been confined to an unknown place for fifty years because of Changhil.
Where had my companions gone for five years?
How could I find them?
I turned to the Heavenly Mysterious Woman and said,
“Can you find out where my companions are?”
[ Please tell me their names. ]
“First, Mangnyang and Zhuge Xian.”
*Sa-ah-aht*
The Heavenly Mysterious Woman emitted waves of light and seemed to cast the Corpse Dissolution Technique to track my companions’ whereabouts. After a short while, she opened her eyes and said,
[ Both have died. ]
“……”
My body almost collapsed from the shock.
Did the Heavenly Mysterious Woman just say what I think she said?!
“W-what do you mean?”
[ I scanned the living beings residing in this world using the Corpse Dissolution Technique, but the beings you recognize by those names have already passed away. ]
“That’s impossible! That…!!”
[ Please tell me the names of others. Since I just stabilized the spell, I can give you answers quickly. ]
Mangnyang and Zhuge Xian are dead?!
I yelled in disbelief before quickly calming down as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown over my head.
‘ … It could be possible.’
It had been five years since I left for Dark Heaven Village, and for five years, the White Lotus Sect had been relentlessly searching for us, while the Master of the Twelve Joules had also kept a keen eye on us. Even Zhuge Yulong had borrowed the Eight Trigrams Diagram from Dark Heaven to retaliate against us for the significant damage we dealt to his forces. All three major powers were secretly conspiring against us!
If they had to urgently relocate their base after just a year, there must have been a grave reason. It wasn’t surprising that the unskilled strategist like Mangnyang and Zhuge Xian died amidst the chaos. They might be far stronger than peak experts of the martial arts world, but they were not at a level to contend with the Dharma Guardian level strength that operates behind the scenes.
Five years could see anything happen.
I trembled with emotions, but I regained my composure and spoke with a trembling voice.
“… Sword Demon Seo Mun-dae-ryong.”
[ He has died. ]
“When, where, and who did he die to?”
[ I cannot tell you that. I can only discern whether a soul exists in this world. ]
So it’s just a spell that shows whether a soul exists or not?
I accepted this notion and continued,
“The Illusory God Cheon Woo-jin.”
[ Not detected. However, it appears to be an artificial technique, so his life or death is unclear. ]
Is Cheon Woo-jin hiding somewhere?
Or perhaps he’s using a method that can’t be traced with the Corpse Dissolution Technique. Given past examples, the uncertainty of Cheon Woo-jin’s life or death instead gave me some relief.
“Extreme Tiger.”
[ He is alive. ]
First survivor!
I felt a sense of relief and asked,
“Where is Extreme Tiger?”
[ His soul seems to be located in Goryeo. ]
“… Goryeo? Could it be Gaegyeong?”
[ Exactly. ]
“……”
Extreme Tiger is in Gaegyeong, the capital of Goryeo.
I was curious why Extreme Tiger would be there but then had a thought that it might be related to the Master of the Twelve Joules. For the time being, I was just relieved that Extreme Tiger was alive and continued to ask the Heavenly Mysterious Woman.
“Jin So-cheong.”
[ …… ]
“Why the hesitation?”
[ Something seems off… He appears to be flickering right now. ]
“Flickering?”
[ I need to look up others first. ]
“Then Tang San, Cheongwol, Bright Dragon, Seo Mun-hye.”
After I sequentially called out the names of my other companions, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman spoke again after a brief silence.
[ Tang San and Seo Mun-hye are alive. ]
Cheongwol and Bright Dragon are dead?
I looked at the Heavenly Mysterious Woman with hopeful eyes, and she continued,
[ Tang San is in Sichuan, and Seo Mun-hye is in Liaoning. ]
“Hmm… If I know their locations, can we go directly there?”
[ It’s possible. ]
I knelt before the Heavenly Mysterious Woman and pleaded,
“Please. I need to find the survivors. Help me.”
[ Understood. I will assist you in gathering your companions again. ]
The Heavenly Mysterious Woman answered readily, but then she added in confusion,
[ However, it’s strange… Cheon Woo-jin is said to have used a technique learned from the Master Mangnyang to conceal himself from the Corpse Dissolution Technique, but I cannot understand the situation of Jin So-cheong. His essence and soul seem to flicker and exist uncertainly. ]
“Are you saying he’s neither alive nor dead?”
[ That’s one way to put it, but it’s not clear. Even after all these years, I’ve never encountered such a case. ]
“… For now, I want to see Jin So-cheong. Let’s go to the place where he’s flickering.”
[ Understood. ]
Confronting the Master of the Twelve Joules right away in Goryeo might be troublesome and dangerous, and Jin So-cheong, whose condition was so ambiguous that even the Heavenly Mysterious Woman couldn’t decipher it, became a more pressing matter. Eventually, with a wave of her hand, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman led me away through the Corpse Dissolution Technique.
*Pa-at!*
I arrived at a desolate Ancient Temple. However, I had been to this barren, high plateau before, so I was shocked and looked around. Then I spoke to the Heavenly Mysterious Woman.
“W-wait, Heavenly Mysterious Woman. Are you really saying Jin So-cheong is here?”
[ He seems to flicker nearby. The Source should be here. ]
“But… but this place is.”
*Sssssssss*
After a moment, the head of the Evil God statue nearby began to turn into sand like an elephant, and darkness started to spread across the ground. It was clearly the manifestation of a powerful evil law, and I tensed up as I focused my gaze ahead. I muttered with a tremble in my voice,
“… Temple of Juuban.”
The ancient base of the heretical sect, and the very place where, due to a ‘contract’ with Zhuge Sa in the past, I had traveled beyond the Qingzhang Plateau. Here, I had obtained the qualifications and blessings as the heretical sect leader and had confronted… ‘that person.’ It was a location I could never forget.
*Sssssssss*
With a bizarre sound that resembled a snake flicking its tongue, the black sand began to swirl around and assumed human form. Eventually, the figure revealed itself, a being I had encountered several times before, one whom I had quelled once.
A figure radiating a cold, ice-like beauty appeared at the very center of the divine temple and spoke out loud,
“You are the human that Zhuge Sa mentioned. I wanted to find you due to the Law of Cause and Effect, and here you are, showing up on your own. I’m truly grateful.”
“……”
She seemed to glance cautiously at my back before continuing,
“Now, shall I hear why you have come to my temple with the Heavenly Mysterious Woman— stranger.”
She appeared to be aware of the translucent spirit floating behind me, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman. I clenched my teeth and spoke to her,
“Wall of Fengshen… No, Simon Magus, God King Demiurge, prophesied as the one who will arrive at Aion. It is an honor to meet you.”
I praised her with as much flattery as I could muster.
Because she was none other than the Funster who had ruled over the Demon Path for thousands of years and the Grand Sorcerer Simon Magus, the first leader of the heretical sect! If she held my companion Jin So-cheong’s life, I couldn’t act recklessly.