Reincarnation Sword God

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Dark Heaven Village

Bwooong!!!

As I clung to the demon beast, my vision transformed into a storm where beams of light danced chaotically, and soon enough, that light faded entirely, leaving a void behind. I had heard from Zhuge Sa that this phenomenon occurred when one surpassed the speed of light. I was familiar with it since I had used this trick back in the day.

Moments later, the movements of the demon beast ceased, and I found myself able to step onto a land where star-like crystals floated in the air. I remained cautious, wondering if it was the same wall as before, but I sensed no aura of demon beasts nearby.

I summoned the spirit of the National Seal and commanded it to explore the terrain of this area.

[Scanning… Current location is the northern part of Dark Heaven Village, the area of the Bronze Star.]

“Bronze Star?” I questioned, perplexed.

“Are you familiar with the terrain of Dark Heaven Village?”

[There is information about Dark Heaven Village that was directly input by Shao Hao Jin Tian, the creator of the National Seal. However, as it is data from thousands of years ago, there may be discrepancies with the current state.]

Shao Hao Jin Tian! One of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the very being who crafted the National Seal. Hearing that name again stirred a pleasurable emotion within me. Wandering through such a bizarre otherworld, I was starting to lose my sense of reality.

“Provide me with all the information, including maps if available.”

[I will show you the map.]

Wiying!

Moments later, a large map, appearing as if made of ancient parchment, floated in the air. A vast continent was shown, with lakes and plateaus scattered all over. Surprisingly, clear directions for east, west, north, and south were evident, and it seemed there were signs of civilization. I was somewhat shocked upon hearing that there was a great city.

“A city? Do otherworldly races dwell there?”

[A dream city ruled by the King of Awe exists. Its residents can be called dream dwellers, and they cannot be classified strictly as humans or other races.]

“Are they beings like Immortals?”

[Detailed records are unavailable. However, it is noted that they are not hostile towards humans.]

“Show me what they look like.”

As I examined the materials presented by the National Seal, I flinched. While it was evident that the great city’s inhabitants included otherworldly beings, the majority resembled ‘humans.’ It was peculiar that in a place like Dark Heaven Village, known for driving even the Great Immortals mad, a race looking like humans thrived in a city.

‘This place truly is unfathomable…’

Muttering to myself, I spoke to the National Seal, “Understood. I’ll step in momentarily.”

I had more inquiries, but there were negotiations that needed concluding first. After allowing the spirit of the National Seal to enter, I summoned Cheon Gong-pyo from my Ruyi Staff. Floating in spirit form, Cheon Gong-pyo spoke with disdain.

[What do you want?]

“Don’t play coy. You’re in anticipation of me seeking the Earth Star here in Dark Heaven Village, aren’t you?”

[Why would you think that?]

“You reacted significantly when I mentioned the Earth Star and now you’re quietly regaining your power. Do you take me for a fool?!”

As I growled, Cheon Gong-pyo smirked strangely.

[You’re not that much of a fool, it seems.]

“Are you planning something if I locate the Earth Star?”

[Hehe. Even if I were, I wouldn’t tell you.]

“… Let’s get straight to it.”

I sighed and spoke to Cheon Gong-pyo. “This is a place I cannot survive alone. Even if the seal is lifted, you remain bound to the Ruyi Staff. If we don’t cooperate, survival will be impossible.”

It was a conjecture, but even if the seal was lifted, Cheon Gong-pyo’s body would likely not easily separate from the Ruyi Staff. Otherwise, after breaking through the wall with my Ruyi Staff, she could have easily escaped on her own. I could tell she was wavering at my proposal. Moreover, her lack of a physical form also indicated that her power wasn’t fully restored.

[What do you want to say?]

“Let’s share information and form an alliance. I’ll share my intelligence, so you share what you know. Without this, navigating through the [Old Ruler] roaming around here to reach the palace, where the Earth Star is, will be impossible.”

[……]

Cheon Gong-pyo crossed her arms, seemingly in thought.

Then suddenly, she spoke. [I want to hear why a human like you is gathering the Seven Luminaries.]

“Are you accepting my proposal?”

[I’ll listen and then decide.]

It seemed like we had reached a pivotal point in our negotiation. I thought this was vital and began to persuade Cheon Gong-pyo.

“The reason I’m gathering the Seven Luminaries is that I believed it was necessary to defeat the Evil Gods. I heard a legend that collecting and unleashing the Seven Luminaries would give me power equal to that of the gods.”

[You believed that? So, you no longer think so?]

Nodding, I continued. “If I gather enough of the Seven Luminaries, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors will intervene. Even possessing the power of a Great Immortal then offers little solace. So while it’s quite despairing, my companions presented alternative ideas.”

[What ideas?]

“They suggested using Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen as bait to draw him into the board.”

Gasp!

Cheon Gong-pyo exhibited a profoundly shocked expression at my words. It was evident that my statement caught her off guard. Then she asked, [What? What does that mean?]

“I no longer believe I can defeat the gods solely by gathering the Seven Luminaries. However, I’ve confirmed that the attitude of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors towards the impending doom and their strange bond cannot be shattered by human efforts. While I’m not entirely sure about the Celestial Realm, it seems they are well within their grasp.”

[That is true.]

I calmly recounted what I’d heard from Zhuge Sa and Mangnyang. “Thus, the only way to break through the authority of the other Three Sovereigns is to gain the assistance of Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen, who is likely to be cordial to humans. There’s no doubt that he is on a different level than any mundane [Old Ruler].”

[……]

“If we are fortunate, the Emperor might delay the apocalypse or spare humanity. To achieve that, I need to gather the Seven Luminaries and meet him.”

[You’re being too optimistic.]

“They say that if I gather the Seven Luminaries and keep them in an unreleased state, I could obtain the Six Luminaries. I’ve heard that it opens the path to the One Luminary. Right now, that’s my goal, and at the same time, I’m looking for methods to reach the Divine Palace. That’s why I’ve come to Dark Heaven Village to locate the Earth Star.”

By this point, I had shared almost all the crucial information. In fact, this strategy had been the result of several days of deliberation between Mangnyang and Zhuge Sa after I regained my memory, and moving forward, I planned to seek out the optimal path to gather the Six Luminaries without hastily unleashing any of the Seven Luminaries.

[That sounds plausible…]

Cheon Gong-pyo looked at me with a hint of concern.

[Ah, I’m having a hard time believing it. After the Fengshen War, humans must have become powerless and nothing but a nuisance, yet how could they have learned so much about the secrets of the gods?]

“Hmm? Powerless?”

[… Alright, I acknowledge that you, Baek Woong, qualify for negotiations with the Master of the Grove.]

Cheon Gong-pyo began to slowly introduce herself. [Let me reintroduce myself. I am Cheon Gong-pyo, the Master of the Four Treasures and the Absolute Teachings. In my past life as a human, I was known as He Yu.]

Cheon Gong-pyo! His renown was legendary, almost mythical, within the Daoist community. During the great power struggle of the ancient Silver Age, two colossal spiritual worlds clashed; this conflict was between the Monster Immortals and the Human Immortals. Ultimately, after the war in the divine realm, the Human Immortals emerged victorious, and thus the prevailing influence of the human Immortals became established. The Monster Immortals were sealed and exiled to Golden Crow Island, giving rise to the famed legend of the Investiture of the Gods.

Furthermore, Cheon Gong-pyo was the legendary Chancellor who oversaw this Investiture of the Gods, a disciple of the esteemed Tai Gong-mang and also a student of the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign. Cheon Gong-pyo was said to have resisted the Fengshen Plan from start to finish and was eventually sealed away.

I found myself perplexed. “So you being the Master of the Grove is news to me? In the legends…”

[As I mentioned, the tale of the Investiture of the Gods has been distorted.]

Cheon Gong-pyo replied in a rather unpleasant tone. [But first, is this location secure?]

“The spirit of the National Seal just stated that the Bronze Star area is often frequented by zebras, and there are no ferocious otherworldly beings around, making it a safe place.”

[Really? Then, would you care for some ancient tales?]

Cheon Gong-pyo gracefully leapt onto a nearby floating amethyst rock. With golden eyes gazing at me, her azure hair fluttered in the southerly breeze.

[In ancient times, when I was the human He Yu, I was once proposed the throne by Emperor Yao, but I turned it down. Afterwards, I ascended the heavens and became a disciple of the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, while simultaneously inheriting the techniques of the Heavenly Ruler, earning the name Cheon Gong-pyo.]

“……?!”

I gasped in surprise. “Are you telling me that the legendary scholar He Yu, who turned down the throne offered by Emperor Yao, is really you?!”

[It seems that despite the numerous distortions, that particular tale remains intact. Hmph.]

“Then you must have directly witnessed the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors…”

Cheon Gong-pyo smirked as he replied. [Indeed.]

“……!!”

The actual person who was directly proposed the throne by the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors in their lifetime!

Having never encountered such a scenario before, my heart raced. The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors I had observed were all immensely powerful beings; I wondered what had transpired then? Sensing my eager expression, Cheon Gong-pyo spoke up.

[However, that event wasn’t as beautiful and inspiring as you might imagine. The reasoning behind Emperor Yao’s invitation was not out of humility or virtue.]

“What do you mean?”

[Emperor Yao was the incarnation of Yao Shun (堯舜). Yet, while ruling the human realm, he grew bored and sought out a new vessel for himself.]

What was Cheon Gong-pyo saying? In my ignorance, I would have stared at him in disbelief. But I had come to a certain understanding regarding mythical beings and the truths behind the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, so I caught on to Cheon Gong-pyo’s words and stiffened.

“… The human He Yu was selected as the new vessel and incarnation of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Yao and Shun.”

Cheon Gong-pyo nodded and said, [The reason was that I inherently possessed remarkable powers and supernatural abilities. Naturally, I rejected their offer, but the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were persistent in their demands. Fearing the suffering I might face in the afterlife, I decided to ascend to the Celestial Realm and became a disciple under the highest-ranking Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, receiving protection from him, the Heavenly Ruler, and the Three Purities.]

“……”

As I pondered deeply, I spoke, “Are you saying the Pure Emperor of the human world was…”

[Exactly as you thought. After I became a high-ranking official in the Celestial Realm, the Three Sovereigns created the new puppet known as Shun, who could not be easily targeted. While history records that as the foundation for revered governance, it was merely a change in embodiment.]

Cheon Gong-pyo scoffed lightly.

[Both Yao and Shun were incarnations of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors sharing the same identity. The true essence of Yao and Shun could not even be named, for anyone who comprehends it would go mad in an instant; they are indeed Demon Gods beyond comprehension. Every human has been nothing but a puppet, ruled eternally by these gods in name.]

“But still, wasn’t that era a time of peace and prosperity?”

[It was indeed a time of prosperity. Yet, simultaneously, this was the historical period where human sacrifices occurred the most—diverse forms of sacrifice were performed without hesitation. It was common for thousands to be sacrificed or massacred in a single day.]

“……!!”

[Prosperity simply meant that the blessings of the gods were abundant, allowing humanity to flourish, but it also meant that the aversion to horrific rituals of human sacrifice was at its lowest. The livestock enjoying the blessings of peace were merely being slaughtered like cattle.]

That was a shocking truth.

A time of slaughter where beings were sent to the afterlife without any resistance! To think that the era that all the Central Plains people longed for, which Confucian scholars frequently cited, was a period marked by the pinnacle of human sacrifice?! Yet, having faced countless malignities while pursuing secrets of the ancients, I could resonate with her words.

When I fell silent, Cheon Gong-pyo continued.

[The reason the Three Purities accepted me as their disciple and successor was twofold. One was their intent to check the influence of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. No matter how powerful the Three Purities were, they could not match the authority of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. However, they were somewhat considerate of humanity, thus striving to prevent any overt tyranny.]

“What about the other reason?”

[My extraordinary talents… My innate “powers.” By becoming their disciple, I was destined to become the strongest Great Immortal in history. The Three Purities planned to partner with me, who would grow in strength, to confront the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.]

I tilted my head. The sheer self-aggrandizement of this character hardly bothered me.

“Since you keep referring to powers, what exactly do you mean? Can you utilize the cosmic aura like Xiang Yu?”

[Not at all. What he uses is fundamentally the power of the [Old Ruler]. However, my powers are fundamentally different from that.]

Swoosh!

Cheon Gong-pyo suddenly separated the Four Treasures. Four swords floated in the air as she spoke haughtily.

[As you can see, the Four Treasures are four relics. However, a typical Great Immortal cannot deploy four relics simultaneously. Unlike merely tapping into their powers momentarily, I can manage them all at once, only comparable to the esteemed Heavenly Mysterious Woman of Nine Heavens. Therefore, throughout history, I am the only Master of the Grove capable of wielding the Four Treasures correctly.]

“What, is this just a display of power?”

[My inherent ability is precisely that. I was born with close to infinite mental fortitude and the capacity to utilize every technique and relic without expending energy at all. Additionally, I can comprehend every technique I observe instantly.]

“……?!”

What the—?!

As I gaped in astonishment, Cheon Gong-pyo continued.

[Currently sealed within the Celestial Realm, but I possessed the innate talent for chaos that humans had from the very beginning. This was the driving force behind the rare occasions when humans could exceed the Great Immortals. In the Silver Age, I, Cheon Gong-pyo, was the individual who exhibited this chaos talent most strongly.]

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