Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

At my words, the white-haired Portrait Immortal wore a puzzled expression for a moment. It wasn't just him—everyone watching seemed to stare at me as if wondering what nonsense I was spouting.

"You'll be fine with it."

But soon after, he laughed and replied.

"Got it. Give me a name."

I nodded and said.

"From now on, your name is Yushin."

"Yushin?"

"It means the one who protects humans and gives them faith."

The Portrait Immortal grinned happily and said.

"Cool. From now on, my name is Yushin!"

The White Lotus Cult Leader, listening beside us, remarked in disbelief.

[You're naming him too casually...]

"Isn't it best for anyone to live up to their name?"

[Well, that's true.]

I looked at Yushin and said.

"Yushin. From now on, don't look down on humans recklessly—protect them."

Yushin replied as if he didn't quite get it.

"Why should I? The [Call] tells me to exploit humans and make them slaves."

"No. That wasn't your choice."

"My choice...?"

With arms crossed, I spoke to the bewildered Yushin.

"I don't care if you slaughter humans of your own will. I'll stop you every time you do. But if you're being forced against your will, I can't allow it."

"Free will? The [Call] is my will."

"No! You know full well it's not. It wasn't your choice."

"......"

"Humans are too weak against your innate immense power. Whenever possible, help and protect them."

"But... that goes against the [Call]'s will."

As Yushin meandered meekly, I shouted firmly at him.

"Resist it."

No reply came.

Instead, Yushin's eyes suddenly dulled dramatically, turning gloomy. With a hazy gaze like oil-smeared fog, he spoke in a completely altered voice.

"...You've gone and done it on your own... I never imagined you'd ruin my creation like this..."

What?

I was momentarily flustered by the sudden change. But I quickly realized it wasn't Yushin's personality anymore—something else had possessed him. I'd trained in the Soul Separation Great Law of the Apostate Cult for ages.

"Zhuge."

He must have cast a possession spell in advance and anchored his soul within the Portrait Immortal. Later, he planned to wield the Portrait Immortal's terrifying abilities himself.

As if silently affirming my words, Zhuge—now in Yushin's body—chuckled darkly and said.

"Ha... haha... Naming... defines a being's existence... A brilliant move, but how well does it work on something prepared from the start for a baleful spirit?"

"It worked perfectly."

I glared fiercely at Zhuge and said.

"If it hadn't, you wouldn't have crawled out here."

"...Haha..."

"Give it up already! The Imperial Palace faction you trusted is done for—still wanna keep going?"

"I won't give up..."

Zhuge, possessing Yushin's body, extended a hand forward and declared.

"Until I destroy the heavens my way... and save humanity my way... never...!!"

Wuuuung!!

It happened then. Thousands of talismans floated up around us at once, enveloping the area. Each brilliantly fluttering talisman moved like a living thing, and I recognized the attack with horror.

"Soul-Stealing Star Talisman!"

Pababat

As the Soul-Stealing Star Talisman barrier unfolded, the talismans rained down at tremendous speed, assaulting our allies. The sorcerers hastily raised barriers to block them, while the martial artists summoned qi shields. The White Lotus Cult Leader, enraged, unleashed his Heart Heaven Infinite Art and murmured lowly.

[You want to go to the end, huh...]

Kukwang

The Cult Leader's beam of light struck Yushin's body, sending him flying back hard. His body recovered instantly, but he seemed to feel the pain. Watching this, Zhuge Sa telepathically told me.

[Baek Woong. Now's our chance. He's greatly weakened.]

[Why?]

[The Portrait Immortal's original personality could turn the time vortex into an attack, but even possessed, Zhuge Yuryong can't use that ability. Right now, he's just an immortal Zhuge Yuryong.]

[What do we do?]

[Escort Cheon Woo-jin to him. Only Cheon Woo-jin can seal his soul.]

[Got it!]

Pabat

I instantly moved to Cheon Woo-jin's side. He seemed to grasp my intent immediately, gathering his qi at his fingertips as he said.

"Even normally, the Soul-Stealing Star Talisman steals souls on mere graze, but amplified by the Portrait Immortal's vast potential, it's deadlier. Anyone hit dies instantly—be careful."

"Don't worry. You can seal him, right?"

"What do you take me for?"

"Let's go!"

I charged ahead of Cheon Woo-jin, breaking through the Soul-Stealing Star Talisman barrier. Thousands of talismans scattered everywhere flew at me with terrifying speed. I swiftly assessed the assault, then used the Three Steps Absolute Skill to dodge dozens of times in place. Once I'd drawn in enough talismans, I shifted directions, herding them like cattle to weaken the barrier.

Tadat

Meanwhile, Cheon Woo-jin used shrinking earth steps to approach Zhuge more easily. Zhuge gathered his hands for a curse as Cheon Woo-jin neared, but he just scoffed and chanted once.

"Haste Bind Command!"

The curse disintegrated instantly, and Cheon Woo-jin was already within arm's reach. Zhuge maneuvered Yushin's body into an aerial sorcery flight, but Cheon Woo-jin joined his fingers again and intoned lowly.

"Haste Bind Command."

Chwaak

[Graaak.]

Yushin's body froze, while Zhuge's spirit body was yanked out through the crown of his head. It was bizarre—he hadn't even touched it—but upon closer look, a grotesque rakshasa form was extracting the spirit.

[Kroooo.]

"Don't resist! The pain of your spirit being pulled out is like being skinned alive."

Cheon Woo-jin sternly shouted with fingers joined, but Zhuge thrashed to the end. With no choice, Cheon Woo-jin gathered more power and forcibly extracted the soul, finally silencing the screams. He placed Zhuge's soul on his palm and declared.

"I, Cheon Woo-jin, shall send this great sinner to the heavenly realm."

Susuuu

Light descended from the heavens, illuminating Zhuge's soul. A massive transparent hand slowly lowered to grasp it. At last, Zhuge's subjugation in this life was complete.

As Cheon Woo-jin calmly handed the soul to the hand—

Chaak

"No!"

The giant hand's wrist was suddenly severed!

As the wrist was cut, a heavy aura swept the hall. It was fundamentally different from what Zhuge or Yushin had emitted. The sharp energy that severed the wrist writhed like tentacles, swirling in the air.

'Urk.'

I gritted my teeth and swiftly cast the Soul Separation Great Law, pulling Zhuge Yuryong's floating soul toward me. But for some reason, it tried to fly off elsewhere, so I could only hold it in place. I telepathically shouted to Zhuge Sa.

[Zhuge Sa! Help with the Soul Separation Great Law.]

[Understood.]

Soul Separation Great Law at full power!

Kugung

It was like the two of us straining to haul a massive cart—we pulled Zhuge Yuryong's soul bit by bit, but it eventually snapped back and flew beyond the horizon.

"......"

As I stared blankly at the horizon, Zhuge Sa said.

[This is no ordinary matter. I'm the master of the Soul Separation Great Law and current Apostate Cult Leader, and you've mastered it for over six decades—yet we couldn't retrieve one soul...]

[Who took it?]

[...This aura...]

Come to think of it, Zhuge Sa was right—the air had felt off for a while. Zhuge Yuryong's twisted madness was foul, but this was on another level. A primal evil clung to the earth, grass, and air, driving humans to insanity with its eerie presence.

Not just me—most in the hall showed clear unease. It felt like opening one's mouth would end everything in tragedy. The White Lotus Cult Leader, with the highest resistance, bellowed.

[Ha!]

His shout unified minds, briefly cleansing the atmosphere. He scanned around and told me.

[Baek Woong. Something's coming. We should flee.]

[You're not claiming the Portrait Immortal?]

[I judge it's beyond my grasp now. Whether you take or destroy him is your choice.]

I gazed at Yushin, floating midair with eyes closed.

"......"

Now, I could channel my yin spirit power into my sword and kill him in one strike. Earlier, self-preservation stopped me, but in his comatose state, it was feasible. Eliminating the unpredictable future disaster Yushin posed was essential here.

But I'd given Yushin a name. I believed he'd defy his fated destiny and aid humans. That faith hadn't changed. Killing him now would be betrayal.

What to do?

After deep thought, I slowly called his name.

"Yushin."

Flash!

Yushin opened his eyes at my voice. He looked at me with mournful eyes and said.

"Sorry... Baek Woong. Some weird guy took over my body, so I panicked and answered the [Call]."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I'm... not myself anymore."

Yushin fell silent briefly.

"'He' specially allowed me this name, but won't tolerate it further. And... something terrifying... is coming from beyond the constellations... crawling from the abyss of constellations..."

Muttering strangely, Yushin said.

"'He' said... he'll start by exterminating the worm that touched what was his..."

"What've you been saying? This 'he' is gonna kill us?"

"No... he has no interest in you... because you're... here..."

Tremble

Yushin suddenly shook with intense fear. Tears and snot streamed as his eyes quivered wildly. He grinned vacantly, drooling madness.

"The prison's broken... this world will be torn apart soon...!!"

".........?!"

"Flee... far away."

Shururuk

With that, Yushin's body turned to light and vanished.

But nothing special happened. The suspicious, unidentified madness and terror we'd felt lingered over the land, while cosmic hues began flickering down from the universe to the earth.

The White Lotus Cult Leader broke the silence.

[We're withdrawing.]

The White Lotus followers left without a word, following his lead out of Mount Hang. It resembled fleeing a colossal horror and despair. Nothing was here, yet facing the darkness pervading the world was too agonizing.

The Twelve Codes did the same, retreating silently. For a great war from Mount Ye to Mount Hang, the ending felt too hollow and ominous.

Mangyang looked the cosmic flickers dotting Mount Hang and said.

"Baek Woong. It seems the ultimate Portrait Immortal..."

"Yushin."

"Right. Yushin has fulfilled his original purpose."

"......"

I stayed silent, understanding Mangyang's implication.

I clenched my teeth and said.

"Yushin... was offered to a god."

"So it seems."

"Damn it..."

I couldn't save him.

Maybe I could have, but in the end, I didn't.

As I inwardly blamed myself, Zhuge Sa calmly said.

"In this case, the key is 'to whom' he was offered."

"Zhuge Sa."

"Baek Woong. The board is already broken. It just hasn't shown yet."

Zhuge Sa looked at me with unprecedented clarity and coldness, then said.

"Head to the Imperial Palace immediately. We must prepare everything for survival against the coming despair."

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