Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Township

My shout drew the gaze of my comrades. And a moment later, Dang San raised his hand without hesitation and spoke.

“I’m ready!”

“What? You’re still...”

“I’m ready not to go.”

“......”

I stared at Dang San in bewilderment, but he spoke calmly.

“I’ve still got a ton of training left to do. If I cultivate diligently for about ten years, I bet I could even reach the Absolute Realm. Why should someone with such a bright future ahead of me have to die? There’s no reason for me to head to a dangerous otherworld like Dark Heaven Township and throw my life away alongside you. Sure, I’m grateful you saved me and passed on your martial arts, but that’s a whole different matter.”

“Hmm...”

Dang San’s words rang true.

And since it was something I’d been mulling over myself, I replied steadily.

“You’re right. But if I go alone, there’s a real chance I’ll accomplish nothing and just die. That’s why I’m shamelessly asking for helpers.”

If Dark Heaven Township was truly a hellish realm that could drive even the Great Law Immortals mad, then the moment I set foot there, I could shatter into pieces. But with all the countless perils it held, my current power wasn’t enough to handle them. At the very least, I needed some support—and that’s why I was seeking aid from my allies.

Dang San spoke up.

“Mang Ryang or Jin So-cheong might follow you if you asked, since they’re willing. But you know they wouldn’t really want to go, right?”

“...That’s...”

“I’ve trained here and seen just how much potential everyone gathered here has. I don’t want to watch talents like these get ground to dust.”

“......”

“I don’t know what Zhuge Sa told you, but don’t lean on the goodwill of comrades who trust you.”

Dang San’s sharp words struck right at my core. Just as he said, my actions now were influenced by Zhuge Sa’s suggestion.

[Baek Woong. If you go to Dark Heaven Township alone, you’re likely to die without accomplishing anything. Take at least two comrades with you.]

[But that’s a death trap. I can’t ask them to die together...]

[We’re nothing but long-term pieces in your quest to achieve your goal anyway. If you’re the king, you need to use us as expendables.]

Zhuge Sa was focused on gathering talents under the banner of “comrades” and expending them as efficiently as possible to minimize the number of reincarnations. His logic was sound, which was why I’d shamelessly proposed it to my comrades this time. If worst came to worst, I figured I could save them by killing myself.

Hoo...’

Still, even if it was just another reincarnation for me, it meant staking their one and only life—and that weighed on me. Hearing Dang San’s rebuke in that moment made it impossible to press the issue further.

That’s when Jin So-cheong stepped forward.

“Even so, Baek Woong, I’ll follow you.”

I looked at him with a heavy heart and said.

“No. Dang San’s right. I’ve been too wrapped up in my own thoughts.”

“Even so, I owe you a debt in my heart.”

“Forget about Lee Gwang. Accidents like that can happen anytime during reincarnation.”

I shook my head firmly.

And I resolved to bring along just one—no more, no less—to ease my conscience.

“See you all in the next life.”

“Wait...”

In that instant, I sent my will to Bideung.

[Bideung.]

Like a living demonic artifact, the evil soul dwelling within Bideung responded to my will. I felt Bideung’s eyes snap open wide, and it proposed.

[Shall we go?]

[I accept your summons!]

It was the first time in over twenty reincarnations that I’d answered Bideung’s wicked call.

Whoooosh

It was a place where dreams and nightmares intertwined.

A massive continent sprawled before me, and at its center lay a vast expanse that could have been a lake or an ocean. The moon hung unnaturally close. Scattered here and there, I spotted 異界 from other realms I’d seen before—strange races living their lives. Some were ones I’d never laid eyes on: giant insects, mountain goats, humans with dog heads, and more.

Rumble rumble

Before, I’d only gazed upon the scene, but now the view narrowed, and all things grew larger in my sight. In truth, my body and soul were drawing closer to that place.

‘Ugh...!!’

The instant my body passed through a massive barrier, a dizzying sensation hit me. I couldn’t be sure, but it felt like I’d just crossed a dimensional boundary.

Whirrrr

As I flew through the dark night, I suddenly sensed countless glowing things swirling around me. The dreamlike, colossal vista I’d first seen in Bideung had vanished, replaced by what felt like wandering a sea of darkness.

In that moment, I felt an “attack” incoming.

Swoosh!

“......!!”

I urgently executed Air Treading Step in midair, twisting my body to evade the attack’s trajectory. But I didn’t dodge completely—an injury grazed my side. That’s how bizarrely intricate and swift the assault had been.

Even as I flew, I quickly spotted the attacker.

‘A spinning... manta ray?’

It was just a glimpse, but it was unmistakably a manta ray—one of the aquatic creatures. The differences from a normal one? It was the size of ten feet across, had five eyes, and a vicious barbed tail trailing behind. That monster manta ray had spun through a thousand rotations to strike at me!

And then my sliced side began to sting.

“Ugh!”

I felt something grayish-white oozing from my side. Whatever it was, it felt deeply ominous. I wanted to land on solid ground ASAP, but I couldn’t even tell up from down, left from right in this chaos. I’d adventured through countless perils before, but nothing as purely chaotic as this.

I shouted urgently.

“Protect me! And light up the surroundings.”

Whirr

At my command, Zhuge Bu—who’d come with me to Dark Heaven Township—deployed a spell to erect a barrier. At the same time, he summoned glowing orbs, illuminating the area.

“...!!”

A swarm of manta rays!!

In a realm filled with blood-red clouds blotting out the sky, thousands—no, tens of thousands—of monster manta rays soared through the air. They were being pulled along by some unknown force, and not just that one manta ray—others were emanating eerie blue killing intent. Instinct told me more attacks were coming, so I gritted my teeth.

“Damn it. An aerial battle out of nowhere.”

I could levitate with internal energy, or manage somehow with Heavenly Steps or Air Treading, but humans weren’t meant to fly. And that wasn’t even the issue—the problem was we’d been flying blindly for who knows how long. Some unidentified gravitational pull was dragging me somewhere, but I couldn’t tell if it was toward land or sky!

Pop pop pop

Soon, the manta rays attacked from all directions. The barrier kept me from fighting directly, but chunks of flesh scattered everywhere. Realizing this wouldn’t do, I considered unleashing the Fire Dragon Divine Sword’s power.

‘No... save it.’

Not the time or place.

I waited for the barrier to hold as long as possible. Unexpectedly, the manta rays’ attacks kept bouncing off, damaging only them, until they finally stopped coming. As I caught my breath, a pitch-black wall suddenly rushed into view.

Boom!!

“Urk.”

I landed swiftly. Then I scanned my surroundings to figure out where I’d dropped.

The area was still shrouded in a ominous sea of clouds like blood flames. No trace of human presence anywhere, just eerie echoes of chaotic wails resounding in the silence. Instead, shadowy outlines revealed jagged black mountains looming in the distance.

“Hmm...”

I summoned the spirit of the Imperial Seal of All Nations and commanded it.

[Map out this Dark Heaven Township and tell me where to go to be safe!]

[Scanning...]

The spirit replied after a moment.

[Unable to create map. This is a Floating Otherworld—coordinates cannot be confirmed.]

[Floating Otherworld? What’s that?]

[This place is not Dark Heaven Township.]

[What?]

[You are inside the stomach of a living being.]

Before I could even be shocked, calamities struck one after another.

Ruuumble...

“......!!”

The pitch-black, jagged mountains.

They had to be mountains—but a colossal hand was rising to engulf them. Just imagining a creature that massive lurking behind those peaks sent chills down my spine. A normal human would be overwhelmed by terror at the sight, but fortunately, I’d seen plenty of monsters, so I quickly concealed my presence.

Squelch

“Ugh! That hurts.”

Pain flared from my side. When I checked, my eyes widened in shock.

Eggs!

Gurgle

The wound from that manta ray earlier was covered in sticky white eggs. One burst open, revealing what looked like a monster larva. To think a mere graze had let parasites take hold—I was dumbfounded.

‘Damn it. Should I cauterize the wound with fire?’

The most straightforward solution came to mind, but I quickly reconsidered. If these things were fireproof, I’d just burn myself. Instead, I opened one of the absolute poison pouches Dang San had given me and sprinkled it on the wound.

Sizzle

“Guh...!!”

It was one of the Tang Family’s Ten Great Poisons, the Memory-Ending Powder, and it worked like a charm—the eggs and larvae writhed in agony before shriveling up and dying. Its raw toxicity was perfect for the job. It hurt like a branding iron on raw flesh, but since it took effect, I knew the treatment worked. Being immune to all poisons myself, I could use any toxin like medicine.

Having somehow treated the wound, I asked the spirit of the Imperial Seal.

[What the hell is that? Is that mountain monster one of the ancient rulers too?]

[Scanning... No data available. Identity unknown. However, as a mass of chaos without divinity, it is not deemed a divine being.]

[How strong is that thing?]

[Unable to judge. It’s an unprecedented lifeform. Pure chaos—advice is to avoid combat.]

[What do you mean this is inside a living being’s stomach?]

[The entirety of this Floating Otherworld has been identified as the stomach of a colossal lifeform.]

[What... damn it... does that make any sense?]

I was floored. Just after arriving via Bideung, I’d flown for over an hour—considering my speed, that was no short distance. This space still looked like a full world; nothing suggested it was enclosed. It felt bigger than a whole kingdom, and this was just the stomach?!

‘Then that massive mountain monster is just a parasite too?’

Absurd scale.

But I regained my composure and said.

[Alright. So how do I get out of here?]

[You must breach the stomach wall.]

[Where’s the stomach wall?]

[Shortest path... Head two thousand five hundred li south-southwest to reach the sea of boiling chaotic stomach acid. Estimated depth: seven hundred zhang.]

[......]

A grim mood settled over me. A sea of boiling chaotic acid? Anything alive would melt on contact—a hellish pit. And seven hundred zhang deep? No way to punch through barehanded. I didn’t have an Absolute Sword Qi that could split an ocean seven hundred zhang wide, either.

[Not the shortest—can I fly straight up to a spot without acid and break through?]

[Possible. Assuming perpendicular ascent, travel eight thousand li to reach the stomach wall.]

[Damn it! How the hell am I supposed to fly eight thousand li?!]

I bellowed in frustration.

‘Even the White Lotus Cult Leader or Dharma Protectors with infinite internal energy couldn’t manage it—impossible for me right now!’

I glanced at Zhuge Bu. With his spells assisting, maybe... but eight thousand li was absurd. That’s crossing a continent—flying the whole way? No chance. Plus, judging by that manta ray, the skies teemed with monsters and 異界.

Even now, dark shadows slunk about near my landing spot. Probably monsters.

What to do?

I gritted my teeth and activated Bideung again.

‘Back to where I came from!’

If I returned to the initial arrival point, some solution might appear.

Thud

“Huh?!”

It happened in that instant.

I could only stand there, utterly dumbfounded.

“Bi... Bideung.”

Bideung had shattered.

A first in all my reincarnations.

I wondered why, but it didn’t seem like it broken by forcing power into it or overusing it. It had simply disintegrated naturally, as if it was meant to.

Only then did I realize.

‘A trap.’

The vision Bideung showed was an elaborate trap.

It lured the user into thinking they could reach Dark Heaven Township, and the moment a demonic cultivator with confidence in its performance answered the call—it dragged them into the hellish stomach of some colossal demonic monster!

Was there any way out of this living hell?

“......”

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Then, clenching my teeth, I muttered.

“I can escape!”

No way I’d become monster chow so easily here!

I’d struggle with everything I had, wring out every gain possible, and die fighting!

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