Reincarnation Sword God

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Chapter 659: The Dark Heaven Village

“Is the King of the Living Sea? Can’t you gather power?”

A word from Abe no Seimei carried a lot of meaning. Especially the mention of the ‘King of the Living Sea’ sparked a memory from long ago.

[Ha ha ha! Have you forgotten your duty as the successor to the Lunar Kill Technique, which requires slaying gods?]
[Well, you’re just a genius, not a true successor.]

During my 22nd reincarnation process, during the Battle of the Sea God, the Master of the Twelve Joules had mocked Miyamoto Musashi. That was the response Musashi gave in indignation.

[Don’t talk nonsense. There is no such thing as a true successor.]
[Really?]
[Yes. No one can defeat the King of the Living Sea.]

Back then, I couldn’t comprehend what he meant and brushed it off. There was an urgent need to gather information in the heat of battle with the Sea God. Yet now the mention of the King of the Living Sea had popped up from Abe no Seimei’s lips again!

I could sense that I wasn’t the only one feeling the tension; everyone else’s expressions shifted.

As I pondered deeply, I asked Abe no Seimei, “What is the King of the Living Sea?”
“Do you want to know?”
“Of course.”
“Then, let’s do a little transaction.”
“What?”

With an indifferent look, Abe no Seimei extended his hand toward me.
“Didn’t you say you’d give me a treasure for maintaining the barrier? I’d like it now.”
“Ah…”

At that moment, I found it hard to refuse his request. He was skillfully dangling crucial information about the King of the Living Sea. He could’ve said he’d tell me everything later, but since the offer was on the table, it felt more appropriate to hand over a treasure right then and there.

‘Damn, what should I give him…’
I hesitated, and nearby, Mangnyang took out the Seven Fires, Seven Golds Line from his robe and handed it to Abe no Seimei.
“This is a treasure known as the Seven Fires, Seven Golds Line. You could make good use of it.”
“Mangnyang! That’s…”

Mangnyang smirked.
“What’s the point of becoming stronger in this situation?”
“……”
Even so, a treasure is not something that a sorcerer can just hand over easily.

When I couldn’t find my words, Abe no Seimei examined the Seven Fires, Seven Golds Line and said,
“This is sufficient. With this, you could achieve effects similar to the Eight Foot Jade.”
“Eight Foot Jade?”
I flinched at those words and asked,
“Does the Seven Fires, Seven Golds Line possess the power of the Three Sacred Artifacts?”
Abe no Seimei waved his hand as he tucked the Seven Fires, Seven Golds Line into his sleeve.
“Not at all. The Three Sacred Artifacts belong to the Moon Sovereign, so no matter how powerful this treasure is, it cannot compare. However, this treasure carries a bizarre power, and if you can maximize its blessing, it will significantly enhance the barrier.”

So, the head of the Yin-Yang Masters is aware that the Three Sacred Artifacts belong to the Moon Sovereign?
I stared at him with suspicion in my gaze.
“Bizarre power?”
“I’ll need to examine it further myself.”
That was a first. Looking at Mangnyang, he bore a similar expression of unfamiliarity. It seemed the Seven Fires, Seven Golds Line concealed some kind of secret.

“Back to the main point, the King of the Living Sea is the mightiest demon king at the entrance to the realm of water, and serves as the gatekeeper leading to the realm of demise.”
“What? A gatekeeper?”
“Indeed. So powerful that it is judged to be the most formidable demon in the Living Sea, thus bearing the title of King.”
He spoke with a serious tone.
“In truth, this Aokigahara Living Sea was created precisely to seal that ‘King’ from unruly characters…”

“……”
The King of the Living Sea! Does that mean it’s far more powerful than the overlay-level monster I encountered at the entrance?
While I was lost in thought, Cheon Woo-jin, who was with me, asked,
“Abe no Seimei, then what exists in the realm of demise?”
“Hmm.”
“If the gatekeeper of the realm of demise is the ‘King’, then what lies within?”
“That would be the one known as the divine apparition. Truly, as their name suggests.”
“Then answer the question I asked.”
Abe no Seimei glanced playfully at the irritated Cheon Woo-jin before opening his mouth,
“We don’t know. It’s beyond our reach.”
“……?”
When Cheon Woo-jin, along with all of us, looked at him in disbelief, Abe no Seimei picked up a mandarin and began peeling it.

“Let me explain how we ended up sealing this Living Sea.”
“In the primordial times, demons arose in this Dongyoung land, and your Yin-Yang Master clan was responsible for rallying the demons and sealing them within the Living Sea,” he stated.
“That’s correct but it’s a bit more complicated.”
“How’s it different?”
“Actually… This Dongyoung land has coexisted with demons for thousands of years while harboring a savage temperament.”
He said with a wry smile.
“You people from the Central Plains have been blessed by the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, while the half-spirits enjoyed protection from Dangun, the Three Masters, and the Twelve Joules. But in Dongyoung, after the likes of Izanagi and Izanami were ousted, we had to face demons and monsters without a single blessing. Due to this, horrors and tragedies far worse than the Central Plains frequently occurred…”

“Hmm…”
“However, the good fortune was that demons and monsters did not get along well, which led them to fight amongst themselves. Thus, powerful monsters emerged, and heroes with supernatural abilities sometimes arose among humans. It was a phenomenon born out of the necessity to fight against otherworldly beings. The result was humans developing a remarkable resistance against demons and often being born with demon powers or prophetic abilities. You could say they fought through sheer instincts like battling cockroaches.”
“Right.”

“And then came my prime when the strength of humanity peaked. At that moment, I led the Yin-Yang Masters and heroes to amass the demons across Dongyoung into a battle that sealed them within the Aokigahara Living Sea. But then problems arose.”
“Problems?”
Abe no Seimei sighed.
“Originally, my plan was to seal the demons and then send them away to another world immediately. After all, such a pit of evil would be of no help to humans. However… as the demonic energy condensed and formed a chaotic blob, it ended up manifesting a new demon king.”
Cheon Woo-jin, who had been listening, spoke out,
“Are you saying the demon king born from the convergence of all demonic energy in Dongyoung is the King of the Living Sea?”
“That’s correct. And from the moment that being was born, a demonic realm emerged in that spot. It connected directly with the territory of the [Old Ruler], surpassing the level of a dimensional gate… I had to expend all my energy just sealing the King of the Living Sea along with its demonic realm.”
“……”
“Thanks to the Master Mangnyang bestowing upon me the blessing of great creation, I managed to survive. If I hadn’t obtained the summoning rights to Amaterasu Ohkami, Dongyoung would have perished then.”
“But it has continued from that time until now?”
“Indeed. By driving the demons back, civilization in Dongyoung was able to flourish smoothly thereafter.”
It seems there was a heavy reason why Abe no Seimei holds such deep trust in Master Mangnyang. Although alone he couldn’t generate the battleground of Aokigahara Living Sea, the blessing from Master Mangnyang allowed him to maintain just enough semblance of life.

After pondering, Mangnyang said,
“So, even the King of the Living Sea cannot do anything, meaning we know nothing about the mysterious realm of demise guarded by the King of the Living Sea.”
“That’s about right. The inner part is an unknown territory. The certain thing is… that there exists something ‘terrifying’ there that no human can handle.”
“……”
“The power of the Tsuchimikado clan barely manages to prevent the King of the Living Sea from surfacing.”
“Then what did you mean earlier when you said Miyamoto Musashi challenged the King of the Living Sea and lost?”
Abe no Seimei chuckled for some unknown reason at Mangnyang’s question.
“Miyamoto Musashi… he surely was a remarkable man. And a lucky one, at that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you ever met Miyamoto Musashi?”
Abe no Seimei’s gaze turned towards me. I answered honestly,
“I met him a few times.”
“Then you must know of his strength.”
“… In the human world, he’s among the top three practitioner; his swordsmanship alone is said to be the strongest in the world.”
“Given that you can gauge that, you too must be worthy of being called a Great Swordsman…”
Abe no Seimei looked surprised. Apparently, just being able to gauge Musashi’s strength was remarkable in his eyes. After a moment, he continued,
“Many warriors have challenged the Aokigahara Living Sea, but Musashi was the first to reach the entrance and confront the King of the Living Sea. Yet, despite Musashi’s prowess, he couldn’t even leave a scratch on the King…”
“Then it should’ve been normal for him to die, right?”
“And that’s why he possessed great fortune. For some reason, the King of the Living Sea took a liking to Musashi and let him walk away unharmed.”
“……!!”
Unbelievable!
If the King of the Living Sea is the pure demon born from concentrated evil, there’s no way that would happen!
A being of pure malice bestowed kindness?!
Shocked, I heard Abe no Seimei continue,
“However, the King of the Living Sea does not wish to face anyone who has defeated him more than once. Therefore, he has no challenge rights.”
“What do you mean? Can’t you just dive in anyway?”
“The King of the Living Sea allows those who challenge him for the first time to face him one-on-one without any of his minions intervening. But if someone merely charges in without challenge rights, they would have to fight countless monsters from the Living Sea.”
“……”
Each of those monsters is as strong as an overlay-level creature, and they’d band together!?
If such a rule exists, then having a single challenge right is truly precious. It’s a thread of hope.

“The King of the Living Sea is already close to a divine being. I have long given up on eliminating him.”
“But…”
I stared at him intently.
“In over five hundred years, ‘the end’ will come; then, there will be no way out. By that time, even the King of the Living Sea will break the seal and walk freely upon this world.”
“Correct. There’s no countermeasure.”
“Still, I don’t understand why you perform the Taishan Duke Ritual to attain immortality. You’ll just live long and have to witness the disastrous end with your own eyes. Why go through all that? You could choose to head to a ‘better place’ in the afterlife.”
With a smile, Abe no Seimei responded,
“Indeed, I would love to sit in the best seat and watch the end unfold. While I’m aware that such salvation is artificial, it’s still the better path.”
As he tossed the mandarin peel behind the chair, he continued,
“However, if I do not maintain this barrier with my powers as I age, this land of Dongyoung may not withstand until the end. I can’t prevent the end, but at least, I want to give the humans living here the means to live day by day until then.”
“……!!”
“Life is ultimately a series of ups and downs. Yet that doesn’t mean the time spent living holds no value. Achieving life and will is in itself the essence of being human.”
Abe no Seimei’s words carried a strange energy, indicating he was a grand sorcerer and sage who had lived through many centuries. Like Master Mangnyang, he was a being devoted to protecting humanity.

I was momentarily dazed, but then I gathered my thoughts to ask the most important question.
“… There’s something I truly want to ask, so please answer this.”
“Although it seems I’m just attempting to gain glory from that single treasure, I am willing to accept.”
“Do you… know what the Lunar Kill Technique specifically is? And what does it mean to be the ‘true successor’ of the Lunar Kill Technique?”
At my question, Abe no Seimei responded,
“The Lunar Kill Technique is nothing more than an illusion or a legend. That martial art doesn’t exist, nor does a true successor.”
“Really? You’re not lying?”
“If there was a mighty martial art created by a hundred geniuses for the purpose of celestial slaying, I would have been the first to learn it. Even if it took hundreds or thousands of years, I would have trained in the Lunar Kill Technique to go and slay the King of the Living Sea. But in all my time witnessing the light and darkness of Dongyoung, I’ve never once seen such a technique.”
“……”
“Miyamoto Musashi similarly did not learn the Lunar Kill Technique. He merely…”
Abe no Seimei paused, as if he had something more to say, then concluded,
“That’s not for me to elaborate on. You should ask him directly.”
“Are you truly unaware?”
“I merely placed my hopes on the unexpectedly emerged genius and helped him reach the King of the Living Sea. He would know better than I do.”
“Understood.”
Suddenly, I recalled something and asked,
“I heard that a warrior wearing a conical hat rushed at a monster and died the other day. Do you know who he was?”
“Was that so?”
“What?”
“I hadn’t received a report about that.”
“You are the governing clan.”
“We, the Tsuchimikado clan, can certainly manage the Living Sea and the Death Sea. However, the happenings in the entrance exceed our management domain, making it nearly impossible to grasp what goes on inside. We can sense traces of those like you using demon artifacts, but we remain oblivious to the internal matters.”
“……”
I see. So I must uncover the identity of the hat-wearing warrior separately?
It seems I’ve gleaned all I can for now.
After bidding farewell to Abe no Seimei, I returned to our base with my comrades.
Mangnyang said,
“Baek Woong, then now…”
“I don’t think there’s any need to turn back now. There’s just too much to do.”
I declared firmly,
“As soon as the Fire Dragon Sword is restored, I will challenge the Dark Heaven Village immediately.”

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