Reincarnation Sword God

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Dark Heaven Village

I stepped inside the silver pathway created by the Heavenly Mysterious Woman of Nine Heavens. Following behind me was Seo Mun-hye, and I realized that the surrounding scenery had transformed into a starry sky filled with pitch black darkness. I also checked to see if there was anything unusual with my body, but I felt fine for now.

‘I can breathe.’

I had thought that the atmosphere would be thin like in outer space, so I was tense, but that wasn’t the case. Air was flowing normally, and Seo Mun-hye seemed to be perfectly fine as well. The Heavenly Mysterious Woman spoke up.

[I’m using the Corpse Dissolution Technique to maintain absolute survival. There shouldn’t be any issues with the air.]

“…Ah…”

I tried to say something, but I realized that every sound leaving my mouth was completely soundless. It seemed that sound couldn’t propagate because there was no air. It appeared that vocal communication wasn’t possible in this place, so it was better to use secret transmission from now on.

……

As I looked at the vast, dry grayish-white land, and the endlessly dark cosmos, a feeling of strangeness washed over me. Such a place was unsuitable for human habitation. However, another problem emerged.

Bouncing lightly, as I took a step, my body lifted effortlessly. I hadn’t used any special techniques, yet my body felt incredibly light. Knowing from my knowledge of the Demon Path that this phenomenon was caused by the moon’s reduced gravity, I became cautious.

‘Looks like I need to stabilize myself using the Heavenly Anchor technique.’

I wasn’t incapable of using light body techniques. Still, I had to refrain from making any sudden jumps. If I wasn’t careful, I might just bounce off the moon and become a cosmic stray.

Tydaht

With Seo Mun-hye, I jumped around for about ten or so li, but I found no signs of the Jeogok Shrine, just piles of desolate white land. As I gazed into the distance, I caught sight of the star I used to live on, making me feel a bit forlorn.

Around that time, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman spoke.

[In this land, the influence of Jeogok doesn’t seem strong.]

I replied via secret transmission.

[Isn’t the moon Banwang Hall?]

[That’s what I thought, but this is my first time coming directly. I also don’t sense much divine power in this land.]

Not sensing much divine power—did that mean this wasn’t Banwang Hall? As exemplified in Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace, the residence of the Three Sovereigns was always brimming with a tremendous presence, and divine power flowed like an active volcano. However, even without the Heavenly Mysterious Woman’s hint, this moon didn’t particularly feel like the Divine Palace of the Three Sovereigns.

‘What’s happening here?’

Finding Cheon Woo-jin in this vast space was just plain difficult. As I pondered about what to do, I heard a secret transmission from Seo Mun-hye.

[Baek Woong-nim. Something is moving over there.]

Something’s moving?

Upon hearing that, I exchanged glances with Seo Mun-hye, and together we concealed our presence to observe the moving object. It was about five li away, and for sure, something was wriggling down below in the basin. Drawing upon all my energy to see more clearly, I frowned.

‘An otherworldly race? No, it doesn’t quite seem like that…’

It looked more like a humanoid, with a head and limbs resembling a human. But it couldn’t be called human because it had wings on its body and seemed to have multiple eyes.

In simpler terms, it resembled a bee-person.

If it indeed was an otherworldly race, it would be classified that way, but such a close resemblance to humans would categorize it as a spirit or strange form. Since I had never witnessed any such bee-human in my knowledge, I was befuddled. However, encountering it recklessly wouldn’t bode well, so Seo Mun-hye and I laid low, closely observing the actions of the bee-human.

Despite the moon lacking air, the bee-human appeared to flap its wings and move effortlessly. It seemed to be digging something out from the basin, and after a while, it took something sizeable into its arms and flew away.

Once the bee-human vanished, I approached the basin to see what was there. At the bottom of the deep basin, which seemed to have a depth of about ten feet, there was a plant stuck like barnacles, something I had never seen on the surface before. I discovered that the plant stretched its stems, blooming a flower that looked like a clump of fog, and I could see that such flowers were blooming everywhere.

‘How can living beings grow here without water or air?’

While I was dumbfounded, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman spoke again.

[The item the bee-human took seems to be the flower of this plant.]

[What’s this flower?]

[I’m not sure either.]

If even she didn’t know, it indicated that the moon’s ecosystem was remarkably independent. I decided to gather a few plants and flowers, storing them inside my wooden armor. I then hid nearby again, waiting to see if the bee-human would return.

Whizzing

As expected, about a half a moment later, several bee-humans began flying in from somewhere. The issue was that instead of a single bee-human, there were now hundreds of them, eagerly clinging to the plants and competing to gather the flowers. I stealthily followed them after they plucked all the flowers and flew away.

How far did I go?

As I headed toward the direction the bees had flown, I noticed an increase in various traces, with ancient-looking ruins visible here and there. Soon enough, I saw groups of bee-humans bustling into a gigantic building resembling a temple.

I surveyed the area with intrigue.

‘This definitely looks like a city…’

It was unlike any architectural style I had seen on Earth. It appeared not to have been designed for human habitation but rather for these strange entities from the start. As I observed the unfathomable city, I noticed something flying above in the sky.

Creeeek

A large bird emitting a strange sound and shining brightly was soaring around. As I spotted something riding atop that bird, I carefully hid myself. I had seen the creature riding on the bird before, so I widened my eyes in realization.

‘That’s the same thing I saw during the Offering Ceremony…!!’

The figure had a human face with dog ears and an indiscernible beast’s body. Its appearance was undoubtedly monstrous, yet instead of evil, it radiated a sense of divinity, as if it were a divine being.

The ritual to summon the Overlay Technique.

At that moment, when I had convinced Yi to grant me the Red Bow and White Arrow, the Eight Trigrams appeared near Yei to obstruct it, and simultaneously, the Heavenly Sovereign Jejun, the Apostle of Jeogok, and Shabi God also intervened. The Shabi God had said back then.

[The meaning of Jejun’s intention is as follows. Both the Red Bow and the White Arrow are possessions of the Heavenly Sovereign. It may be an excessive blessing for a mortal.]

However, Yei, in a fit of anger, brushed off the intervention, and I ended up acquiring the Red Bow and White Arrow. Of course, the outcome wasn’t particularly good, but it was an event that left an impression on me.

Indeed.

The being riding on the divine bird was none other than the Apostle of Jejun, the Shabi God!

At that moment, both Seo Mun-hye and I felt our bodies momentarily covered in light. I could hear the Heavenly Mysterious Woman warning us.

[Be careful. You won’t be able to completely conceal your presence from the Shabi God using human martial arts or stealth techniques, so I’ve temporarily used the Corpse Dissolution technique. We can’t hide our forms for long, so we need to hurry and exit.]

[Heavenly Mysterious Woman, can we defeat the Shabi God if it comes to a fight?]

[As of now, it’s not impossible for me to win, but that’s only because I’ve regained my full strength thanks to your offerings. Remember, the Shabi God is a being of divine level, serving as one of the Three Sovereigns’ apostles, and is exceedingly powerful.]

[Understood.]

[And right now, we’re infiltrated, and the probability is high that this land is under Jeogok’s control. Causing a disturbance would be foolish.]

I felt a sudden awareness of the situation.

In the past Offering Ceremony, I didn’t grasp what was happening, but that being flying above was part of the traditional apostles of the Three Sovereigns. This indicated that, just like when I had been appointed as the apostle of the Three Sovereigns Jeon Wook in the past, I could potentially serve a powerful divine being.

‘And unlike me, who is human, the Shabi God, as a divine existence, must freely wield the power of the apostle…’

Moreover, it was also possible that the Three Sovereigns’ Jeogok might directly appear here to capture us all. We absolutely could not be discovered by the Shabi God in this situation.

Whizzing

Fortunately, it seemed that the Shabi God hadn’t spotted us and flew away on its bird. After the Shabi God left, I spoke to the Heavenly Mysterious Woman.

[It seems like the moon is indeed Banwang Hall, but if it’s not, then there’s no way the apostle, Shabi God, would be patrolling the area.]

[……]

[Heavenly Mysterious Woman?]

Thinking for a moment, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman finally spoke.

[Then, it’s possible that the moon itself is a massive dimensional gate.]

[What?]

[The Shabi God’s role seems to be that of a Gatekeeper.]

[…Hmm!]

I could tell the Heavenly Mysterious Woman’s theory held merit. That would explain why, even without the deep influence of Jeogok, the Shabi God was wandering around.

The moon itself wasn’t Banwang Hall.

The moon was likely a gateway to the Three Sovereigns’ Jeogok.

‘Just like how the Five Demon Gate was guarded by Yeoryeong?’

The Five Demon Gate, which was the portal leading to the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace, was directly guarded by the Shabi God, who was the divine being of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace. The fact that such a crucial gateway was heavily guarded on the immortal realm indicated that the Three Sovereigns did not allow even the immortals to intrude. It also emphasized how seriously they regarded the dimensional portal.

Simultaneously, the idea of the Three Sovereigns maintaining their base structure was starting to give me a headache.

‘Damn it… To defeat the Three Sovereigns, I need to take down the gatekeeper of the Divine Palace first…’

But those gatekeepers were all either Great Immortals or apostles of the Three Sovereigns!

If that were the case, there was a high chance I would be wiped out before I even approached the Three Sovereigns.

I cast a suspicious glance toward the structure where the bee-humans had entered earlier and gestured toward Seo Mun-hye. A moment later, we entered the building and used stealth techniques to approach, soon uncovering the interior scene.

Whoooosh

Thousands of bee-humans clustered around a massive square, where the flowers that the bees had gathered formed a small mound. Among them, the severed heads and limbs of beehumans were scattered everywhere. The scene was unexpectedly gruesome, but what shocked me even more soon followed.

Whzzt

White flames erupted. The flames engulfed the mound of flowers, but the problem was that the bee-humans’ bodies were burning along with it. As the intensity of the flames reached its peak, birds emerged from an altar and began dancing. Those birds were likely divine beings under the domain of Jeogok, previously summoned alongside the Shabi God.

Bziiing

As the frenetic dance concluded, the bee-humans began departing as if sighing. After witnessing the entire process, I could finally understand what was happening.

‘It’s human sacrifice…’

The bee-humans were currently serving the Three Sovereigns’ Jeogok.

And due to their desire for prosperity and fear of the divine, they were picking the flowers favored by the Jeogok while also sacrificing some of their own as offerings.

For the maintenance of civilization.

“…”

I felt an odd sensation.

Was I to understand that not just humans performed human sacrifices?

Realizing that spirits, otherworldly races, and half-demons also conducted sacrifices to serve their great beings left me feeling disheartened. The gap between mortals and the divine felt overwhelmingly vast yet again.

‘Hmm… There’s definitely something to gain here.’

If I could return to the moon next time, perhaps I could take that massive mist flower.

While I mused over this and that, a gruff voice suddenly resounded behind me. The owner of the voice was an unmistakably typical bee-human.

“Hey. Follow me.”

The bee-human was looking directly at us. Even though I had perfectly erased my presence using the Corpse Dissolution technique and concealed my aura using martial arts, it had discovered us.

But the real shock came from something else.

It was speaking in the Central Plains language.

Seo Mun-hye and I looked at the owner of the voice in unison and without a word followed him. The voice was just too familiar. Moments later, the bee-human led us into a large house and spoke.

“What should I say… You survived Dark Heaven Village, huh?”

Inside the building, it seemed air existed, allowing us to speak normally and breathe without the assistance of technique. As the bee-human eyed me with disbelief, I grinned.

“Aren’t I impressive?”

“…Hmph.”

“By the way, did you change that appearance with a transformation technique?”

In response to my question, the bee-human retorted.

“I can’t deceive the Shabi God, who’s a servant of the Jeogok, with just that. This isn’t transformation; it’s a technique that deceives the world.”

“I still don’t quite understand what that means.”

I grumbled, but the bee-human ignored me and continued speaking.

“Your elder brother called for you, right? Is he safe?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s a relief. You managed to return safely too.”

Huh?

This guy?

I looked at the bee-human with curiosity.

“You’ve changed a lot in five years.”

The guy from before wouldn’t have said something like that.

Ssssss

Slowly, the appearance of the bee-human began to revert back to his human form, revealing someone I was very familiar with.

“Do you have a problem with that?”

The person speaking with a frown was none other than Cheon Woo-jin.

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