NOVEL NEXT Chapter 755
**Dark Heaven Village**
“Kugugug!”
In that moment, Changhil’s body shattered, and simultaneously, this mental realm trembled violently, on the verge of collapse. Did I just take him out?!
When Jeon Wook threw a glance at me, I felt my knees go weak. The thought of dying like Changhil, my whole being squeezed to death, made me tense. Despite all the times I had died through countless methods, death never became familiar to me.
However, unexpectedly, Jeon Wook did not attack but instead spoke.
[You need to tell the lord what Changhil is planning, and what contracts and powers he possesses immediately.]
“…Huh? Didn’t Changhil just kill you?”
[He’s a cunning one. What I just dealt with was a clone infused with his power, so he slipped away. Still, I’ve eliminated about 30% of his strength, which is a significant blow.]
Jeon Wook seemed to calmly analyze the situation. It appeared that the Changhil pressing me until now was indeed just a clone, not his true self. But why should it matter if he’s a god? Couldn’t he enter any body as needed?
And I began to think that dying now might just pose a problem. While I had avoided the worst-case scenario of losing everything to Changhil, I felt regret as my life was spared. If I could survive, it was essential to save my companions and gather the Seven Luminaries.
‘Should I save my life for now…’
I cautiously spoke to Jeon Wook.
“Changhil’s plan is…”
I talked about Changhil’s current humanity evolution plan, its relation to the characters, and the Transference Gate alongside Apostle ‘Jin’ and Qin Shi Huang. I also mentioned that Changhil was in possession of the Philosopher’s Stone and aimed to become a celestial being.
Jeon Wook scoffed at that.
[That was pretty much as expected.]
“Did you already guess Changhil’s plan?”
[Who among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors didn’t know? With the Eight Parts of the Divine leading the charge, anyone would see through his scheme!]
“………”
[He might have thought of himself as clever, but had it not been for the chaos creeping up behind him, he would have been beaten to a pulp thousands of years ago.]
“What’s your plan now?”
[Since you offered this body to me, I plan to use it to eliminate him.]
Uwooong.
As expected, Dalgi’s body was completely under Jeon Wook’s control, showing the power of the Yin Spirit. The screen displayed Jeon Wook moving Dalgi’s body, teleporting as he exited this realm. I quickly spoke to Jeon Wook.
“Lord Jeon Wook!! Thank you for your mercy in keeping me alive.”
[This Demon King Dalgi’s body has a strong causal link due to your techniques. If you perish, it will lose its power rapidly. I will keep you alive until I catch Changhil, so cooperate peacefully.]
“…Understood.”
[Based on your attitude and achievements, I will decide your treatment.]
I could confirm my thoughts right. Jeon Wook of the Seal of the Supreme King couldn’t easily erase me while he needed to take down Changhil. If I, the spellcaster, died, the causal link would significantly vanish.
‘Am I fortunate enough to avoid a dangerous experiment?’
At that moment, I found myself confined in the mental space after moving into Dalgi’s body.
In other words – I was without the Heavenly Secret.
What would happen if I died under Jeon Wook’s hands in this state? Would I revert back to my original body? If not, would it be eternal death? Or would I – undergo reincarnation without the Heavenly Secret?
The best case would be returning to my original body. In that case, I would reconfirm that the Seal of the Supreme King can resist the powers of the Three Sovereigns, at least for a moment. And the worst-case scenario would be eternal death, thus ending my adventure.
However, if I were to reincarnate without the Heavenly Secret, that in itself would spell trouble. That was because, in some ways, it implied despair more profound than eternal death. I sighed inwardly, relieved to evade that choice.
*Shhshh *
As Jeon Wook controlled Dalgi’s body, we promptly exited the Stairs of Ascension and arrived at the front of the Imperial Palace. The palace’s front was utterly devastated, and in the distance were humanity transformed into Changhil’s new race, still crazily rushing towards Jeogok and the Celestial Realm, waging war.
Jeon Wook fathomed the scene off in the distance and muttered, displeased.
[Did they think such a thing could grant them an advantage on the Day of Judgment? They can’t even transcend the limits of causality, how ridiculous.]
“What are the limits of causality?”
[It means those creatures can’t justify releasing our subordinate races onto the surface.]
“………”
At that instant, a chilling thought crossed my mind.
‘Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace!’
Come to think of it, all of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors had unique Ten Thousand Ghosts Palaces and bases! For Jeon Wook, it was the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace and for Jeogok, it was the Banwang Hall. Even the ghostly beings of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace rivaled the Great Immortal. Each of them possessed power comparative to the Celestial Realm. Realizing that, with the current situation, none of the Emperors had released their subordinates yet left my head spinning.
If chaos deepens, and the Three Sovereigns released their Ten Thousand Ghosts Palaces, a calamity far worse than now would surely descend upon us! Moreover, given the Emperor’s current attitude, the onset of chaos was just a matter of time, and the destruction of the world was imminent.
I spoke urgently to Jeon Wook.
“…We should find Changhil quickly!”
[No need to look far.]
“Huh?”
[That fool has directly challenged us.]
What was that supposed to mean?
*Shiiiik!!*
In the next moment, Jeon Wook teleported, appearing in the very center of Luoyang Castle. The area was engulfed in silence as Changhil’s transformed humanity surrounded the place, merely glaring at Jeon Wook. The Celestial beings had retreated long ago, and the ground was littered with gruesome corpses.
Standing in front of Jeon Wook was Jin, behind whom Jeogok had revealed himself, observing the chaotic situation in the hall. Two of the Three Sovereigns were surrounding him.
Apostle Jin, with arms crossed, said,
[Baek Woong. I never imagined you would choose to bring Jeon Wook out. That choice could lead to your eternal demise. Where did such guts come from?]
That wasn’t ‘Jin’.
No doubt about it. Changhil was clearly possessing Jin right now. Jin must have been moving to capture my companions when Changhil swiftly exited my body to hand it over. And those words were surely addressed to me, who resided within Jeon Wook.
I angrily yelled in the mental realm.
“Don’t make me laugh. Tell him he’s finished!! And make sure to inform Lord Jeon Wook.”
[……]
“……”
In the mental realm, Jeon Wook gazed at me with icy eyes, and I turned away, saying,
“No, you don’t have to relay that…”
After all, talking with Changhil wasn’t the time. Ignoring my thoughts, Jeon Wook moved Dalgi’s mouth to speak.
[To think that a result of thousands of years of effort would amount to this… were you prepared for the doom set to befall you today?]
[Doom? What a laughable claim…]
Changhil twisted Jin’s face into a mocking smile.
[Oh, Sovereigns. Do you know why I didn’t flee? It’s because I no longer need to run!]
*Kuooohhh!*
In that moment, a terrifying chaos erupted from Changhil’s entire body, releasing mists of chaos that threatened to envelop the entire world. No, calling it a cloud would be an understatement; it was more like a fog.
Amidst the chaos, Changhil shone white and shouted,
[As the Harbinger of Chaos, I command: restore the time!!]
*Shurrrl!*
In that instant, the Changhil troops, lying brutally slain in the battlefield, suddenly rebounded to life at incredible speed, as if time had been reversed. Simultaneously, the Celestial beings who had yet to escape Luoyang Castle perished in an instant, even if they were Great Immortals, swiftly crumbling to dust.
[Guahhh.]
[Hwaaaaagh.]
It seemed that none of the immortals could withstand even a moment. In an instant, the Celestial forces were decimated!
That was the ability the Divine Portrait had shown before! Memories flooded back as I recalled that time.
[That’s the ability known as Time Recovery.]
[Hoo! This game is nuts… A power not meant to appear in the Mortal Realm… That’s truly a puppet of the devil…]
[His timeline is fixed. Whatever attack we make, it’s all changes aimed at the future in the flow of time. But since the timeline is fixed, every attack just bounces him back, resetting him to the past state.]
[To interfere with the ability of the [Small Causal Link] directly touches the very thread of fate. No ordinary physical attack or technique could ever break it.]
[That puppet just woke up and can’t assess the situation yet. If we don’t escape in this window, we might be in hot water.]
[Kuku… The ability to convert time control from defense to offense, a contradiction of possessing both an invulnerable spear and shield…]
Exactly. Back then, when I merely took hits while the Master of White Lotus and the Dharma Guardian, along with the Heavenly Spirit Pill owners, were attacking in unison, I focused solely on defense. Hence, I didn’t grasp the true terrifying impact at that time, but now witnessing Changhil using the Time Recovery ability offensively, the outcome became clear.
Just from Changhil employing the Portrait’s ability, the dead were revived, and even the Great Immortal was instantly slaughtered within a second. The ominous intuition I felt when facing the Divine Portrait Yushin back then was merely a warning for the current situation.
‘If I had chosen to battle instead of converse with Yushin back then…’
The Divine Portrait Yushin, utilizing his ability to decay time, would have likely annihilated me and the White Lotus Sect alongside the Twelve Joules. The perfected Divine Portrait had become an existence beyond human reason. I could now realize how right my decision was back then.
Thus, the defeat of the Celestial Realm was confirmed, yet the situation was far from over. Watching the turmoil unfold, the Three Sovereign Jeogok glared at Changhil contemptuously before speaking.
[I, Jeogok, restrict the Five Elements of this world.]
*Swaaat*
With that, Jeogok’s command echoed out, and suddenly the world fell into silence. The Pangzi, who had just been revived and brimming with life, gradually lost their strength and began to collapse, not just confined to Luoyang but spreading throughout the entire world.
Death filled the air.
As I observed the transformations, I realized through my philosophical knowledge what was occurring.
‘Restricting the Five Elements… means forbidding all changes in the cycles of interdependence and mutual restraint!’
If that was the case, all activities of living beings based on the Five Elements would be outright forbidden, leading to total stagnation of the atmosphere’s air, everything turning to decay, fire failing to ignite, and the durability of all earth and minerals decreasing massively.
Put simply – with the Five Elements blocked for just a moment, this world would become a planet of death. The realization struck me with both shock and dread.
‘Is this… the power of the Three Sovereigns?!’
Inexplicable and utterly beyond common knowledge, their overwhelming power was frighteningly real. If I were to relate what I witnessed about the restricted state of the Five Elements to any ordinary Taoist or immortal, they would surely deem me insane. How could anyone believe a single entity could control such a colossal concept as the Five Elements? But Jeogok, of the Three Sovereigns, was unmistakably capable of such feats.
The reason Jeogok restricted the Five Elements was likely to utterly exterminate the weak changhil race that still inhabited the realm of living beings. It seemed he waited until the Celestial Realm had fully retreated before employing that method.
In response, Changhil reached out again and yelled,
[I shall revert the time of the ritual that binds the Five Elements back to the past!]
*Paaah*
Once more, the world started to breathe again, and the Five Elements began to move. Their conceptual flow became visible in my eyes, perhaps because I was with Jeon Wook. Jeon Wook grinned malevolently, saying,
[Kuahaha. Would Jeogok’s specialty of concept prohibition be easily undone? The limits of causality have been reached, so it’s about time I called my subordinates.]
*Thwack*
The moment Jeon Wook snapped his fingers, a dreadful wail, or some other horrendous sound, echoed from the swirling gray clouds in the far sky. Seeing the innumerable spirits streaming forth from the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace sent chills running down my spine.
The Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace was descending!
Was it finally time for the Lords to unleash all their powers in this fierce confrontation of gods?!
Just to be safe, I glanced over at Jeogok, who was raising one arm to the sky, pointing at the moon.
*Shuaaaa!*
From the moon’s white surface, innumerable dark dots plummeted toward the ground. The subordinates summoned from the moon in the Banwang Hall and the Apostle Shabi God leading them were descending into this world. The numbers appeared to be far beyond tens of thousands.
‘No!! This can’t happen!!’
While I had narrowly escaped the worst outcome of losing my reincarnation to Changhil, the situation had yet to improve. Whether Changhil or the Three Sovereigns were to win, it was clear the surface would be doomed. The Celestial Realm was nearly in ruins, and the human race had almost entirely transformed into Changhil beings.
What on earth was I meant to do in this absurd world?
Should I just quickly die and restart?
But even planning that, trapped in the mental space without the Heavenly Secret, I could do nothing.
While I was panicking, Changhil suddenly erupted into manic laughter.
[Uhhahahaha!! So you’re calling forth your minions! You’ll soon find regret in that choice!!]