NOVEL NEXT Chapter 868
Chapter 15: The Life Sea
“Only a Reborn Person can obtain the True Martial Home!”
“So, are you saying I’m the only one who can gain the Lunar Kill Technique?”
I looked over at Zhuge Sa when he mentioned that, and he continued speaking.
“The reasoning is simple. There hasn’t been a successor with such power for thousands of years, and the strong chaos from the other dimension, the whirlwind of the Baekje, clashed with Dongyoung’s Divine Status yet couldn’t find the Lunar Kill Technique. And the King of the Life Sea claimed that Miyamoto Musashi approached him according to the Law of Cause and Effect….”
Zhuge Sa chuckled coldly.
“Most importantly, the King of the Life Sea referred to Musashi as ‘someone from this era.’ Isn’t that right?”
“Ah!”
“If we were ordinary humans, that would be a riddle of sorts. But we understand that you’re a Reborn Person, and we know that you’ve been cycling through the same time period endlessly. So, what does that mean?”
“…Does it mean that the King of the Life Sea is looking for a Reborn Person?”
Zhuge Sa nodded.
“Yes. Then everything makes sense. There could be other reasons, but if the one capable of using the Lunar Kill Technique is a Reborn Person, the basic premise fits.”
“……”
“It’s not surprising that they couldn’t find you for thousands of years. They wouldn’t be able to show themselves to the world. After all, how could one find someone who suddenly appears in a single era and cycles endlessly through the same timeframe? That chaos known as Baekje just caused trouble and ended up returning to that other dimension without a clue.”
“Understood.”
That truth had already been confirmed countless times through my rebirths. Even the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors had no idea about my reincarnation. I thought there might be some truth to Zhuge Sa’s speculation and, as I pondered, I stumbled upon something strange and said.
“Zhuge Sa! If that’s the case, why did Miyamoto Musashi meet Minamoto Yoshitsune and the King of the Life Sea due to the Law of Cause and Effect? They said Musashi was drawn to the Law of Cause and Effect of the Lunar Kill Technique, but he has only been an imitation and has never learned it himself.”
“I do have a hypothesis regarding that…”
“What is it?”
Zhuge Sa glanced at me slyly.
“There’s a hypothesis that the Law of Cause and Effect stated he would eventually meet you.”
“…What?”
Why would I be involved here?
“Musashi has been searching for the Lunar Kill Technique more fervently than anyone else in the world. Didn’t he tell you today what he discovered about the Lunar Kill Technique? In the meantime, he trained and did all sorts of things.”
“Uh… wait a minute….”
As I struggled to understand, Zhuge Sa spoke bluntly.
“Don’t overthink it. In the circle of fate, his role was to be the speaker delivering information about the Lunar Kill Technique to you.”
“……”
“How you understand that the Law of Cause and Effect has reached him should be straightforward.”
Is it possible…
That the fact that the Lunar Kill Technique is related to Reborn Persons is the only clue that consumed all of Miyamoto Musashi’s life to tell me one day?!
‘That’s a bit much.’
No matter how great the Law of Cause and Effect is, can such a thing be possible?
Because of that, the chaos known as Baekje sparked wars among the gods in ancient times, and even the great hero Minamoto Yoshitsune turned into a skull, waiting for thousands of years for the rightful successor of the Lunar Kill Technique. Furthermore, Miyamoto Musashi spent his entire life seeking the Lunar Kill Technique. All those numerous journeys and lives wasted just for a fragment of a clue to be passed to a Reborn Person?!
I was in shock over the absurd inefficiency and cruelty of it when Zhuge Sa continued his words.
“Also, I have deduced something from this.”
“What is it?”
“Both the King of the Life Sea and Baekje can be classified as ‘Old Rulers.’ They’re too powerful to simply regard as Demon Kings. They are akin to gods. Do you understand?”
“Yeah.”
“And it’s crucial to note that Old Rulers of such caliber can sense echoes of the Law of Cause and Effect but can’t fully perceive its entirety. In this regard, the stronger you get in the future, the more like food you’ll be to the Old Rulers.”
“Huh? I can’t defeat the Old Rulers at all right now…”
“Well, that’s due to the overwhelming strength difference where strategies or tactics won’t even work. Once you reach a certain level, it will definitely be advantageous. After all, it has been proven that no one can read the Law of Cause and Effect governed by a Reborn Person.”
“……!!”
“We might be closer to our goal than we think. However…”
Zhuge Sa wore a slightly concerned expression.
“The Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen or the Evil Spirits could pose a risk.”
“What are they gonna do, anyway?”
“As I said, it’s not just a matter of power. Power can be built up through various means, so it’s not that difficult. The real concern is that the Emperor seems capable of calculating the Law of Cause and Effect, and the Evil Spirits appear similar.”
“……”
“They might not know the identity of a Reborn Person, but if the Reborn approaches them or shows them the full extent of their being, they could respond instantly. No, we’ve already been toyed with by the Emperor. Didn’t we realize last time that the Seven Luminaries’ Trial was set up by the Emperor, who read the Reborn Person’s actions?”
“Hmm.”
Top-tier deities capable of reading the Law of Cause and Effect.
I guess it means I have to think of ways to deal with them in the future too.
“Baek Woong. We’ve obtained valuable information from Musashi. What should we do next?”
Zhuge Sa’s question wasn’t born out of ignorance; he was testing what strategy I was concocting as my lord. I replied firmly.
“We break through the Aokigahara Life Sea.”
“Are you going to do it alone?”
“No. The biggest issue will be the strength needed to defeat the ‘King of the Life Sea’…”
I had no choice but to ponder. It was great to gather some good information through Musashi, but I lacked a proper method to break through the portal to the other dimension, Aokigahara Life Sea. If I couldn’t defeat the powerful being known as the King of the Life Sea, I wouldn’t be able to enter that other dimension!
Then Zhuge Sa spoke up.
“Baek Woong, are you missing something?”
“……?”
“First, let’s summarize the situation. The reason we want to breach the Aokigahara Life Sea is that it is a portal to the other dimension, and we need to enter it to find the White Lotus Sect’s Four Great Artifacts and discover the Dharma Technique. We need to find that to turn back the dangers of the Singularity.”
“Right, that’s correct.”
“However, someone has already entered that other dimension, haven’t they?”
“…The Supreme Thief!”
“Do you really think the Supreme Thief defeated the King of the Life Sea to get in there?”
“That’s… absolutely not.”
The Supreme Thief was certainly a powerful being, but I didn’t think he was on the level of the Overlay Technique. Of course, he might be capable with the Divine Skill, but he had declared he couldn’t use it in the human realm. No matter how I looked at it, it seemed unlikely that the Supreme Thief could defeat the King of the Life Sea and enter inside alone.
Zhuge Sa’s eyes sharpened.
“There’s a possibility that brute force isn’t the answer. It would be great if we could meet the Supreme Thief again to hear how he did it.”
“That might be a bit difficult…”
“…….”
Zhuge Sa, deep in thought, said.
“Baek Woong. For now, let’s bring Abe no Seimei to our side. We might need his assistance to breach the Life Sea.”
“Understood.”
Pa-at!
I headed to seek out Abe no Seimei. When I arrived to meet him, his assistant Abe no Yoshihira appeared, and I persuaded him to take me before Seimei, presenting my Obsidian filled with my memories and said.
“Just so you know, this Obsidian contains memories of a grim end and darkness. I wish to give this to prove I’m a Reborn Person, so if you agree, please accept it.”
“Got it.”
Shuuuuuk!
A few moments later, Abe no Seimei accepted the Obsidian and trembled slightly. His eyes momentarily darkened before returning to their original state, and he smiled ruefully.
“Indeed… it wouldn’t be strange if an ordinary human went mad.”
“Are you alright?”
“You should know. I am one with Amaterasu Ookami, so this level of intensity doesn’t bother me.”
Just as Zhuge Sa said. Since Abe no Seimei couldn’t be regarded as a purely human, he was one of the few who could now become my companion. After receiving my memories, Abe no Seimei spoke.
“Indeed, the hypothesis that the Lunar Kill Technique is exclusive to Reborn Persons is intriguing.”
“Seimei, you handed Musashi the Amenohabakiri, right? Give me something valuable to help me breach the Life Sea.”
“Are you joking? Even if I combined all the treasures I’ve collected, they wouldn’t measure up to even a part of what you could gather with your Reborn knowledge. Just having the Seven Luminaries would be extravagant.”
“…….”
That’s true.
Abe no Seimei said.
“How about this, Baek Woong? If it’s truly the case that you are a Reborn Person…”
Fwoosh!
“……!!”
Suddenly, Abe no Seimei placed his hand on my chest, and it felt as if he was being pulled in as his hand entered deep into my chest. Golden light started to pour out of him, and something began to be transferred toward me from within his body.
It’s hot!
It’s hot!
It’s so hot!!!
I realized that a searing heat was radiating from my entire body, blooming from within like a small universe, even surpassing the intensity I felt from the Fire Dragon Incarnate. Just as I barely managed to maintain my center amid my dazed consciousness, Abe no Seimei instantly transformed into a middle-aged man’s appearance.
“Why… did you suddenly age….”
“I have transferred half of Amaterasu Ookami’s divine body to you.”
“……!!”
“I’ve been conserving my strength to seal the darkness of Dongyoung for hundreds of years, but if you’re truly a Reborn Person, then it’s no longer necessary….”
Amaterasu Ookami!
The creator god of Dongyoung and the powerful ancient god’s body was originally fused with Abe no Seimei, and he had apparently taken half of it and granted it to me.
Having suddenly aged by at least 50 years, Seimei revealed a wrinkled smile.
“With that power, it should assist you a bit in confronting the King of the Life Sea.”
“Isn’t that dangerous for you?”
“Of course, I have to keep myself from dying, so I left half behind. I need to continue helping you for now….”
Seimei continued.
“However, I can’t guarantee that this power will continue beyond your rebirth. The divine body is just that—purely the body devoid of the divine spirit, so if you pull power out to use it against the King of the Life Sea, it runs a high risk of dissipating.”
“Hmmm.”
“It might also be a good idea to just commit suicide instead of battling the King of the Life Sea, leaving that power for the next cycle.”
“…….”
I felt a bit awkward as Seimei casually discussed the benefit from a Reborn Person’s perspective. Naturally, if it were in my interest, I would act that way, but wouldn’t such an act bring ruin to Seimei and the other humans living in this life? I had set a firm resolution not to act rashly as a Reborn Person until now, so I couldn’t just act out my interests.
I began to sense whether the power of Amaterasu collided with the Yin Spirit Power. But even when I drew both powers simultaneously, there was no clear conflicting sensation, and instead, they flowed smoothly like oil together. It seemed that having different divine powers didn’t mean they had to clash.
‘It’s more like the power of the sun than fire.’
I might be able to secure an advantage against the King of the Life Sea with this power later on.