Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

Paht!

I arrived at the imperial palace with my companions. Even within the palace, the spot we reached was right in front of where the crystal stone stele had been, but it was already gone. Just to be sure, we checked the chamber where the portrait nobleman had been created, but there was nothing there. Zhuge Sa spat out bitterly.

"It's just as we thought. He fled with the research results and the crystal stone stele."

"Did that alchemist think the imperial palace would lose?"

"Who knows. In any case, let's move quickly."

Zhuge Sa seemed strangely hurried, as if he were being chased by something.

Next, we headed to the barrier holding the National Jade Seal. Thanks to Cheon Woo-jin's immense sorcery, we shattered the barrier in one go and easily obtained the seal. Just as before, the moment I touched the National Jade Seal, I encountered its contract spirit.

After completing the contract with the National Jade Seal and returning to reality, Zhuge Sa said.

"I'll check right now."

Wooong.

"National Jade Seal. Use the omniscope to find where the alchemist Saint Germain is!"

[Understood.]

The jade seal vibrated for a moment. Then, after gathering information for a while, the National Jade Seal spoke.

[The search results for Saint Germain total two instances.]

"Two? Tell me the locations."

[Here they are.]

Susuuu...

A screen-like image appeared in the air, vividly displaying two scenes as if we were watching them from the side. One screen showed an elderly Western man trembling as he studied in a shabby room, while the other depicted the alchemist tinkering with the crystal stone stele in a dark workshop. I stared at the two screens in bewilderment and said.

"Are both of these the alchemist Saint Germain?"

"One is definitely the guy we need to catch right now, and that old man is probably some third-rate impostor. No need to overthink it."

"..."

I nodded and requested the exact location of the alchemist from the National Jade Seal. Moments later, it imprinted the alchemist's position directly into my mind, allowing me to know instantly where he was.

"The entrance to the Western Regions."

It was right at the western border of the Ahra Empire, where the true territories of the Western League nations began. I was slightly astonished that he'd escaped that far in such a short time, but I shared the information with my comrades regardless. Mang Ryang pondered deeply before speaking.

"Fleeing west means his base is likely in the Western lands."

"Wouldn't it be better to catch him right now?"

"...I'm against it."

"Huh?"

"Since it's come to this, it might be good to watch where he flees to. That way, we can learn his base and the faction behind him."

"That makes sense."

We didn't urgently need the crystal stone stele right now anyway, and we could check his location anytime with the omniscope. It was better to let him lead us to his den, like releasing a rat to find its hole.

After securing the National Jade Seal, we entered the palace's Supreme Dragon Hall to check on the emperor. What we found there was a horrific sight.

"Aaah!"

"Your Majesty! Please..."

Kroooar!

A one-eyed monster over twenty feet tall was slashing through maids and eunuchs with its massive claws. Its body was grotesquely rotting in places, with bulging veins and tentacles that turned the stomach. Yet its superhuman strength had already left dozens of corpses scattered throughout the palace.

I gritted my teeth at the carnage.

"Has the emperor turned into that monster?"

"Jin So-cheong."

At Mang Ryang's loud call, Jin So-cheong shot forward without a word. He unleashed five spear thrusts at the rampaging monster, which soon collapsed with its body riddled like a honeycomb.

Kugugung!

The fallen one-eyed monster oozed green blood onto the floor for a long while before its body began to shrink. Visibly changing form, it reverted after about half an incense stick's time into a naked middle-aged man—the current emperor of the Great Ming Empire, unconscious.

Geum-ma grabbed the emperor's nape and checked his pulse before saying.

"He's dead."

"Of course. When a demonic sorcerer's forbidden art backfires and the transformation ends, no human soul or vitality can withstand it."

Zhuge Sa said this, then turned to me.

"Baek Woong. Use the Heavenly Scripture's sorcery. There's something to confirm."

"Summon the emperor's soul?"

"You catch on quick."

Pababat!

Flames flickered in my vision, and I easily summoned the emperor's soul. He seemed unaware of how he'd died, trembling violently before suddenly screaming.

[Aaak! Pt please help me. I'll do anything. Never let me go there...]

Wasn't he being unusually cooperative? I tilted my head, about to ask a question.

"What happened here..."

That was when it occurred.

[Kraaaak!! No!! Please... not the living hell!!]

"Ugh."

A sudden gale blew in, and the emperor's soul began getting dragged into the void. I maintained the Heavenly Scripture's sorcery while resisting with the Soul Extraction Art's suction to the best of my ability, but his soul body merely stretched like pulled dough. As the pulling force intensified and sweat beaded on my forehead, Zhuge Sa said from the side.

"You can't win. Let it go."

"Got it."

Paaak!

The moment I released my hold, the emperor's soul was sucked away. I shook out my hands and asked Zhuge Sa in confusion.

"It was just like when Zhuge Yu-ryong got repelled earlier. What the hell is going on?"

"All souls belonging to the imperial palace are being recalled by the god's will. When a god personally harvests souls, even masters of the Soul Extraction Art like you or me can't stop it."

"...!!"

"If you want to help, save the pitifully slain maids' souls at least. They don't deserve to be dragged into the living hell too."

I flinched in shock.

The god's harvest!

Did that mean the [Ancient Ruler] dominating the imperial palace was personally collecting their souls? Understanding Zhuge Sa's words, I quickly used the Soul Extraction Art to gather the victims' souls floating nearby. Following the art's principles, I stored them temporarily, and Geum-ma asked Zhuge Sa.

"Zhuge Sa. Any guess why the god is suddenly harvesting souls on such a massive scale?"

"..."

"Zhuge Sa."

"I have a hunch from my demonic sorcerer's knowledge. That's why I came to the palace to grab everything worth taking."

Zhuge Sa glanced at me and said.

"If you've got everything, let's run. This place is about to become a madhouse."

"What do you mean? Zhuge Yu-ryong is dead, and the palace forces are wiped out. Are you saying the god is sending another apostle?"

"No. Something worse is coming. Anyway, let's hurry."

Pabat!

We returned to the Ghostly Spirit Valley. But even after the long battle ended that day, no one dared sit and rest carelessly. The conclusion wasn't satisfying, and Zhuge Sa had hinted at greater trials ahead.

As everyone sat in a circle, Zhuge Sa spoke.

"In my view, neither this Ghostly Spirit Valley nor Mang Ryang's True Nether Valley is safe. Because this place isn't far from the capital Luoyang, after all. That portrait nobleman... just as Yu Shin said, we need to evacuate farther away."

Geum-ma said in disbelief.

"What are you talking about? Even Ghostly Spirit Valley or True Nether Valley are hundreds or thousands of li from the palace. You're saying something that massive is about to happen?"

"Yes. It's coming soon."

"I'd like to hear why you're so certain."

Zhuge Sa cracked his knuckles. His face bore an unprecedented frantic glint of madness.

"Yu Shin responded to the [Ancient Ruler]'s call. A normal human would just be enthralled and become a fanatic, but the problem is that Yu Shin was created from the start as an apostle to carry out the evil god's will—a portrait nobleman."

"What kind of problem?"

"An apostle offers all their soul and existence to the god. In other words, that [Ancient Ruler] has obtained the karma to rampage freely on earth. Do you grasp how dangerous this is?"

Mang Ryang, listening beside us, paled and said.

"Even the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors... won't be able to stop that [Ancient Ruler] from turning the Central Plains into chaos."

"Exactly. The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are the masters of the Central Plains, but it's like a bailiff with legitimate rights searching the house—they can't say a word."

"Direct descent is possible too, then."

The [Ancient Ruler]'s direct descent!

In all 23 of my past lives so far, I'd never properly experienced it. Of course, Zhuge Sa had once summoned the Forest Ruler using his soul and the Nameless Sacrificial Text, but even that wasn't a complete summoning.

Recalling past experiences, I asked Zhuge Sa.

"Is this... like when the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors' envoy possessed my body before?"

"You could say it's almost the same. But the freedom here is far greater. You didn't consent to yielding your soul, so the envoy half-forcibly took your body. But by responding to the call, the portrait nobleman has maximized the karma's freedom."

Zhuge Sa crossed his arms and continued.

"...The issue is 'who' that portrait nobleman offered his soul to. I don't know that."

"Why?"

"Though prepared for an evil god, that contract is undoubtedly tied to the Sleeper of Enkai too. A divinity wouldn't simply abandon a powerful vessel like a portrait nobleman. So I can't tell which one gained the karma's freedom—evil god or Sleeper."

I understood Zhuge Sa's point and nodded.

"So... soon, either an evil god or the Sleeper will descend upon the Central Plains."

"Yes. The Sleeper just tried sucking up all the palace souls to prepare for the massive clash to come."

"Is there no chance the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors will intervene in anger?"

"There is, but they'll likely just watch unless pushed. You know how indifferent they are to humans, right?"

"..."

True enough.

They might not blink even if a million die.

Cheon Woo-jin, having listened to our conversation, grumbled curtly.

"What a load of pointless nonsense!"

All eyes turned to Cheon Woo-jin. He said.

"If that's true, then nothing we do matters anymore, does it? In a situation where gods rampage, moving bases is just the difference between dying early or late."

"..."

He was right.

What would change even if we investigated?

An atmosphere of utter despair settled over us. Zhuge Sa retorted to Cheon Woo-jin.

"Result-wise, maybe. We'll probably all die. But when we die still matters."

Zhuge Sa glanced at me and said.

"Because of Baek Woong."

"..."

"Even if humanity is wiped out, keeping Baek Woong alive one more day is our task from now on. It's too early to give up."

Zhuge Sa continued.

"Ideally somewhere far from the Central Plains, but not too far. Any recommendations?"

Mang Ryang suggested.

"What about the Tata Kingdom?"

"You're thinking of Matteo Ricci's help?"

"It's actually distant from the Central Plains, and resupplying would be easy."

We held a brief meeting. After discussing various candidates, we decided to relocate our base to the Tata Kingdom first, then consider the southern continent with Hwayo secondly. We weren't heading straight south because we needed to monitor the situation near the Central Plains.

I asked Zhuge Sa.

"Then should we resume searching for the Seven Luminaries?"

"Of course. This life's already doomed to be short. With death looming right before us, we need to actively pursue the Seven Luminaries to buy even a little more time."

"Then... start with Moon Luminary or Fire Luminary."

"Naturally."

Until now, we'd held back due to the Twelve Rulers' scrutiny, but Moon Luminary was one of the easier ones to obtain. Liberation was another issue, but acquiring the unbound Moon Luminary itself was straightforward. Defeating its guardian was a hassle, but we could just avoid it. For Fire Luminary, I knew a way too, but with the current state of the soul-summoning ritual and heavenly connections uncertain, it was much harder than Moon Luminary.

'And...'

If the Twelve Rulers were truly dead, Wood Luminary might be obtainable too with some luck.

I was about to discuss plans for acquiring the Seven Luminaries with the strategists when.

Kugugung!

A massive roar shook heaven and earth. Everyone rushed outside in alarm, only to see the western sky shattering like broken glass as enormous thunderclouds surged forth with terrifying momentum. These weren't ordinary clouds—they blackened the entire sky.

Something gigantic seemed to flicker and fly within the darkness. Between lightning flashes, a vague shape—human or cephalopod?—appeared, but vanished like an optical illusion. Yet the clouds undeniably brimmed with chaotic energy.

Heaven and earth alike resonated, holding their breath for the impending catastrophe.

"Activate the omniscope, Baek Woong."

Zhuge Sa murmured with a mad grin.

"That's Luoyang over there."

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