Lost Things (1)
‘Damn it, the situation is about to turn completely upside down.’
If the Demon Realm’s Core Formation realm cultivators enter the fray, the tide will reverse in an instant.
They would spit out every occupied territory we hold, and in the worst case, the Human Realm itself could be invaded.
In that event…
I let out a deep sigh and stepped outside the governor’s office, gazing up at the sky.
The Demon Realm differed from the Gwanghan Realm, yet heavenly qi still existed here. Since it would play a decisive role in the coming crisis, that was only natural.
It was the moment I looked up.
“Hm? Yeon-dou, what’s the matter?”
By now, Yeon-jin stood beside me, staring at the sky.
He stroked his half-white, half-black hair and wore an expressionless face.
“Yeon-dou…”
I called him again.
He simply stared at the sky without answering and began reading the heavenly qi beside me.
I asked, my face stiff.
“…Who are you?”
“…Huh?”
The moment I unleashed my killing intent, Yeon-jin finally snapped out of it and looked at me.
“Ah, sorry. The heavenly qi is changing rapidly. A super great calamity has suddenly appeared in the qi, fixing the inevitable death. Heh heh… I was happy to hear the Golden Divine Thunder Sect had been exterminated, but before I could savor that joy, the day of my death was sealed. Hah hah…”
“…I asked who you are.”
The fact that the Golden Divine Thunder Sect had been wiped out was the incident the human alliance envoy had just reported to me, the governor.
How could a Core Formation detective like Yeon-jin know such distant news from this far away?
‘This guy isn’t Yeon-jin.’
Someone wearing Yeon-jin’s body was speaking to me right now.
Yet something felt strange.
No matter how much I stared at him, for some reason his will and temperament were exactly like the Yeon-jin I had always known.
“This young man must have been teased a bit too much. I apologize. I am the original—Yeon-wi, the ancestor of Yeon-jin.”
Creak. Crack. Crack-crack!
Gradually, Yeon-jin’s body twisted in places, and his very form began to change.
“By the way, the governor’s face is also changing rapidly, and he’s reading the heavenly qi nonstop. It must be because a major incident occurred in the Gwanghan Realm mainland and he’s trying to read the qi. Can you tell me what happened? Why the Golden Divine Thunder Sect vanished, why the Heavenly Thunder Banner’s aura disappeared, and why both Yeon-jin and my own fates became twisted.”
Creak-crack…
After some time, Yeon-jin’s body and skeleton had completely transformed. His face changed, and he became a perfect woman’s body.
Moreover, the hair that had been white on the left and black on the right for Yeon-jin now reversed—black on the left, white on the right.
Whoosh!
“…I see.”
I swallowed hard and looked around at the grand ritual that covered more than half of the eight occupied territories we had just seized.
The being who possessed this enormous ritual was now exposing his will without hiding anything.
The surrounding civilians, the office administrators, and the local cultivators all began searching for the owner of this ritual.
Crackle, crackle…
“Senior Four Pillars, I don’t know why you hid your True Soul inside the small body of a mere Core Formation junior, but allow me to explain…”
A Four Pillars cultivator.
Moreover, not some random one.
The pinnacle of the Four Pillars realm—the remnant soul of a cultivator who had reached the boundary of Core Formation and was on the verge of challenging Integration!
Unlike Song-jin’s scattered remnant soul clinging to the mortal world, this was no mere fragment.
It was literally a living Four Pillars cultivator who had stuffed his entire, intact remnant soul into the body of his descendant at the Core Formation level!
I spoke with tension.
“In the Gwanghan Realm Human Realm mainland, a True Immortal is said to have vaporized the entire Golden Divine Thunder Sect and Noeryeong Island, and during that process several Integration elders were gravely injured. My guess is that the True Immortal took the Golden Divine Thunder Sect’s sacred relic, the Heavenly Thunder Banner.”
“Ah, so that’s it. Even in my generation, rumors of the Heavenly Thunder Banner carrying evil legends circulated in secret. I never imagined it was truly a calamity-bringing item.”
Yeon-wi, the woman, folded her arms and sighed.
I guarded her warily and asked.
“Forgive me, but may I know your true identity?”
“Didn’t I already say my name?”
“What kind of person you are, what you were doing—that is what I want to know.”
“Ahaha, even a Core Formation governor would never let that slip. No matter what, how are you looking at me like that?”
Ssssss…
The surrounding qi dropped, and my heart hammered wildly.
The heaven and earth qi around us hardened, making breathing difficult.
But the moment I sent out my ritual wave, a massive aura surged from my shadow, easing my breathing.
Boom!
“…What?”
Her expression changed.
“You brat, what are you hiding in your shadow?”
“If you’re curious, explain your identity and situation first, then I’ll tell you.”
“Ahaha, so you want to trade information? Sorry, my fate with Jin-ah is already fixed, so I’m not in a good mood right now. Honestly, I was just thinking I should try every impossible thing I ever wanted to do while living longer… that’s about it.”
“What exactly are you planning to do with Yeon-jin’s body? I need to ask you as a friend before I ask as a senior.”
“Finally, I ask once more. Senior Yeon. Who are you, where have you come from, why did you enter Yeon-jin’s body, and what is your purpose?”
Kwoooong!
An explosive aura exploded from my shadow, pushing back Yeon-wi’s pressure.
At the same time, a hand burst out of the shadow, and General Seo—one size taller than me—appeared.
I had been steadily reinforcing General Seo during my time in the Demon Realm.
Using the special materials of the Demon Realm, I had finally restored General Seo to the early Four Pillars level.
Although the soul before me had once reached the edge of the Four Pillars realm, his current cultivation was only mid-Core Formation. His ritual, however, remained at the peak Four Pillars level.
Of course, as one who had reached the peak of the Four Pillars, he would know countless bizarre divine arts, yet even with General Seo present I would not suffer.
“Hmm, this is boring. A man should at least shake and tremble a bit. That’s why Jin-ah was so cute. Well, for now, this original is from the Noeryeong Pavilion. I am Yeon-wi.”
“Noeryeong Pavilion?”
“Yes. After defeating the Water Realm, I betrayed the Golden Divine Thunder Sect and dumped all of its secret arts and divine techniques into the pavilion. That betrayal is why the Golden Divine Thunder Sect was wiped out in a single defeat, why I was beaten half to death by the Heavenly Thunder Banner, and why I barely survived by hiding inside Jin-ah’s flesh.”
“….”
“To escape the enemy’s gaze, I thought the safest place was beneath the enemy’s nest, so I let Jin-ah join the Golden Divine Thunder Sect. But this time, the good-for-nothing Geum Byeok-ho that defeated us seemed perceptive, so he decided to participate in the Demon Realm expedition to lose me.”
“…Then what is your purpose?”
“My purpose? Nothing special. Just to live as long as possible and do everything I’ve always wanted. That’s why I entered my ugly descendant’s body and clung to it. Ahaha… well, that’s about to end too.”
Regret filled her eyes.
“While reading the heavenly qi, I learned the Golden Divine Thunder Sect had been exterminated. It was an influential sect, so knowing its fate was easy… but after checking, I discovered that my fate and Jin-ah’s are now fixed with death.”
“…You mean the death has been sealed?”
“In plain words, your and Jin-ah’s fates will end in no more than twenty years. Within that, death is certain. I don’t know what happened, but the fate suddenly became extremely short.”
“….”
She looked at the sky with a sorrowful face.
“I wanted to live a little longer, but heaven clearly didn’t want that. To die like this…”
“…What happened to Yeon-dou?”
“He can hear our conversation from inside.”
“Allow me to speak with Yeon-dou for a moment.”
“Hmm, all right.”
Whoosh!
After a moment, the massive ritual trembled and vanished, replaced by a Core Formation level will.
Then Yeon-jin screamed in a high voice.
“Ahh! Ancestor! My, my lower body has disappeared! Ancestor! Please, stop changing my body at will except when I’m cultivating! …!”
“….”
The ancestor spoke through the ritual, but Yeon-jin angrily shouted into the empty air.
“No! I was born a man! Every time you steal my body like this, you turn it into a woman! It irritates me so much! And even the governor caught on! What am I supposed to do now! If the news spreads, will you take responsibility? No? Since I only have a few years left anyway, I just tried it! Ugh!”
“…Yeon-dou.”
“Ah! I’m sorry, Governor. My ancestor is a woman, so every time she takes my descendant’s body, she changes mine!”
“Hmm…”
I looked at his body and observed the yin-yang flow circulating inside it.
“The flow of energy during the change was quite natural. Is that a special technique?”
“Ah…! That’s… the ancestor said he would explain later. You should ask him later.”
“…All right. For now…”
I asked him seriously.
“The current situation of the Golden Divine Thunder Sect is roughly this. The sect has been wiped out, and the only survivor is probably that bastard Jeon Myeong-hoon. And that guy is probably not in his right mind… I know Yeon-jun’s lifespan is less than twenty years. What do you plan to do?”
“Hyung is still alive?”
“Yes.”
“Haa… then…”
He hardened his expression after a moment of hesitation.
“I’ll go meet him! I’ll ask the senior who was on site what happened!”
“…Very well. I’ll send you. After all, the Demon Realm Core Formation elders are about to start exerting power, so I will gradually retreat from the occupied territories. I’ll prepare to follow behind.”
I had already planned to investigate Jeon Myeong-hoon after leaving the Demon Realm.
“I will clear the occupied territories as fast as possible, step down from the governor position, and chase after you. I will do everything I can within twenty years. I hope you live.”
“Haha, with the ancestor present, external pressure probably won’t kill you. Well, the ancestor keeps demanding to speak with the governor. I’ll introduce you.”
After a while, the ritual again stirred.
“Hmm, even a Core Formation governor and a survivor of the Golden Divine Thunder Sect have all reported in. The human information network is developing rapidly these days.”
“….”
“If you don’t want to speak, don’t. I wasn’t particularly curious either. By the way, do you have no Four Pillars puppets? Even a Heavenly Person puppet? It seems your puppet has a very convenient structure for containing souls.”
“Do you want to use it in physical form?”
“I’m not planning to use it physically, but as a last resort to possess it temporarily in a crisis and display my true ability.”
“Very well, I will present one.”
I slowly took a Jeomuldo out of my bosom and handed it to her.
“Hm? You’re giving it to me so easily?”
She looked at the Jeomuldo with suspicion.
“There are no traps. After all, I’m not an enemy of Yeon-dou. There are a few things I’m curious about, so please answer briefly.”
“Hmm, all right. Ask away.”
I asked with a little curiosity.
“In the cultivation secret art I learned, the Blue Spirit Star Light Five-Color Great Law, there is also the yin-yang flow circulating inside Yeon-jun’s body. There seems to be a commonality where both yin and yang flows coexist.”
“Shall I ask about that?”
“Hmm… a trivial question.”
Creak!
In an instant, she brushed her hair, and her body twisted, returning to Yeon-jin’s male form.
The hair color also reversed from left-right.
“For now, the technique that reverses gender itself is a legitimate version of the Thunder Technique derived from the Thunder Technique fundamentals. The core secret of all Thunder techniques is ‘Thunder occurs through the exchange of yin and yang auras.’ Using the cyclical order of the Taiji to interpret yin-yang, this is the Taiji Shaking Thunder Body technique that reverses the body’s yin and yang and nurtures thunder power from within.”
“…Does the Golden Divine Thunder Sect teach all techniques by reversing gender?”
“Hm? No, not at all. This is simply a technique I like, so I learned it. Ahaha!”
Sarak!
Yeon-wi spun once around.
Between those spins, Yeon-jin’s body repeatedly shifted between male and female.
“And you said there is a similarity in yin-yang between our techniques. That is because, at the level of the Original Spirit, one trains Yin God and Yang God. Any technique passing through the Original Spirit realm contains the principle of yin and yang.”
“Hm, yes.”
“Yin-yang and Taiji are the foundational principles of all heaven and earth cultivation techniques… even the Water Realm techniques, I hear, value yin-yang-Taiji more than Heavenly Clan techniques. Well, is that all you’re curious about?”
“For now, that’s sufficient.”
“Fine. Then we will leave the occupied territories soon and return to the Gwanghan Realm.”
Whoosh!
Having finished speaking, she vanished back into Yeon-jin’s consciousness.
Then Yeon-jin woke up and screamed again.
“Ancestor! Please give my body back! I can’t control it yet! Ahh, really…”
After sighing, Yeon-jin vented to me for a while.
Then he took his leave and headed to his lodging to pack, preparing to return to the Gwanghan Realm.
I saw him off and returned to the governor’s office.
‘There was some commotion, but the heavenly qi was confirmed.’
It would not be long.
In approximately seven months, calamity would arrive.
Meaning that once the Demon Realm Core Formation elders entered the fray, seven months would be enough for the front line to be pushed this far.
‘Starting today, I must coordinate with the human alliance to evacuate the personnel of the occupied territories as quickly as possible.’
Once evacuation is complete, the responsible officers can finally step down.
The alliance would likely issue the same order.
And what the alliance envoy conveyed shortly after did not deviate much from my expectations.
With one exception.
“Retreat only to the fourth occupied territory?”
“Yes. The alliance has decided to retreat to the fourth occupied territory, shrink the front line slightly, and wage a total war from there.”
“Is there a reason?”
“The alliance plans to deploy the Invading Border Array in the fourth occupied territory line, turning the occupied territories we hold—minimum the fourth—into Gwanghan Realm territory.”
“Hmm…”
I understood the situation.
The human alliance intended to use the Invading Border Array to swallow the occupied territories we held—up to the fourth—into Gwanghan Realm territory.
In other words, encircle the area of the fourth occupied territory with the array’s dimensional boundary and drag the Demon Realm land entirely into the Gwanghan Realm to expand human territory.
“Then, curious, there is a Gongryeong-ji in the eighth occupied territory. Since the Gongryeong-ji can be developed later as a strategic asset, why shrink the front line to only the fourth territory?”
“Ah, Governor. This time we discovered not one but three Gongryeong-ji.”
“Correct.”
Yes.
Due to this Demon Realm invasion, humans had discovered three Gongryeong-ji in the Demon Realm, and each was strictly protected by its own governor.
“So it still doesn’t make sense. The value of a Gongryeong-ji is coveted by countless races even in the Gwanghan Realm, and it is not easily obtained. I heard the alliance was turned upside down when three Gongryeong-ji were discovered during this human-demonic great war. And… all Gongryeong-ji lie outside the fourth occupied territory.”
Yes.
A Gongryeong-ji was simply a strategic asset coveted by all races in the Gwanghan Realm, and discovering three in this war between humans and demons was an enormous event.
And they were distributed respectively in the fifth, eighth, and eleventh occupied territories.
“If they had said to retreat to at least the fifth, it would make sense, but retreating the front line to only the fourth…? Why?”
The alliance envoy nodded and answered.
“The alliance judged that it was impossible to stop the Integration demonic cultivators advancing. Therefore, the alliance decided to use resources we cannot use as traps.”
“…What?”
“Later, the alliance will send ritualists to install the Boundary Extinction Sky Array in the Gongryeong-ji. When the Integration demons arrive, they will detonate the Gongryeong-ji together with them. The demonic veins of the Demon Realm will be ravaged, the Gongryeong-ji will be rendered unusable, and the Integration elders will suffer severe injuries from the spatial storm.”
The alliance envoy smiled brightly and conveyed the alliance’s will with a cheerful expression.
“What could be more foolish than allowing the enemy to use resources we cannot use? Haha, the alliance’s strategists are truly excellent.”
“…One question.”
“Speak.”
“If we detonate the Gongryeong-ji with that Boundary Extinction Sky Array… the entire occupied territory we hold will be ruined…?”
“More than that. The spatial storm will erupt from beyond the Gongryeong-ji, sweeping away all nearby regions and carrying everything away. If the Integration elders do not stabilize it and leave it in its natural state, this area will become a barren land devoid of life for a full thousand years! Long-term, it will weaken the Demon Realm’s power. If the Integration elders choose to stabilize it, they can delay their advance, making it an extremely efficient strategy!”
“…I see. A very useful piece of information. Thank you. Then, starting today…”
I pressed my throbbing head and tried to stand.
At that moment, the administrator said with a cold face, rifling through documents.
“Then the demonic tribes in the occupied territory… will all undergo the radical transformation that has been postponed until now.”
“…What?”
“Since there will be no more need for us here, for maximum efficiency it would be better to change the demons into smaller radical pills and transport them. We could take them as pets, but if we carry overly bulky items during evacuation, it will be troublesome.”
“No, wait. My thought is that the remaining demons here should simply be driven far away.”
The alliance envoy and the administrator looked at me with eyes that said they could not understand.
The envoy asked me.
“Governor, what do you mean? The alliance also issued an order for this evacuation operation: ‘Bring the demonic resources as efficiently as possible while evacuating.’ But how could you issue such an order, Governor?”
“…That…”
I began to think at maximum speed.
And the alliance envoy stepped closer.
“Governor, every action of yours is reported periodically to the alliance. The fact that you implemented the gentlest policy in the occupied territory is also recorded and reported. Therefore, the alliance is also worried about this.”
Our eyes met.
“There is concern that perhaps you have been charmed by the Demon Realm demons and become a demonic spy. Governor, I trust you. Please… do not betray the human race.”
The administrator also approached and thrust documents at me.
“Governor, decide quickly. Permit the radical transformation.”
“Governor, the correct decision.”
“Now you must move quickly. Governor, hurry…”
And I opened my heavy mouth under the crowd’s urging.
“I am…”
Amid the avalanche of conflict and worry crashing over me, I barely managed to hold my ground.