Chapter 154
Chapter 154
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
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Paht!
The moment my bold confrontation with Mangnyang ended, Miho and I teleported via the Bi Deung. The place we emerged through the Bi Deung was the deepest underground sanctum of the imperial palace—the lowest level of the bottomless abyss. And there, illuminating this darkness, stood a massive stele.
Miho looked at the crystal stele and said,
"It's incredible. This magic power..."
"This is the stele inscribed with the method to create the Sage's Stone."
I stared intently at the crystal stele.
In my 13th reincarnation, Zhuge Fu had guided me to this crystal stele's existence. At that time, Zhuge Fu had proposed that we refine the Sage's Stone together. But since I couldn't trust Zhuge Fu, I rejected the offer and chose to settle things with him in a life-or-death struggle.
'As expected, no mere guards.'
This place could only be reached by the emperor, alchemists, or top figures like Zhuge Fu. Naturally, it was the utmost secret, and perhaps even the emperor or Zhuge Fu weren't normally allowed access by the alchemist. So, there was no way ordinary guards would be protecting the crystal stele.
As I approached the crystal stele to store it in my spatial pouch, Miho suddenly stopped me.
"Wait!"
"Why?"
"Something like a spell is cast on it. Touch it, and you'll connect to the source of the spell."
"Hmm."
That made sense. To the alchemist, this crystal stele was more precious than life, so it wouldn't be strange if it was laced with all sorts of defensive spells. Directly contacting the crystal stele seemed quite dangerous.
"Miho. Can you dispel it?"
"It's difficult. This isn't an ordinary spell—it's magic forged with magic power. It borrows the power of demon gods, so it's tough."
As expected of a priest who worshipped evil gods, the alchemist wielded bizarre magic. After a moment's thought, I simply held my spatial pouch toward the crystal stele.
'Tch, no choice.'
He might already know we'd entered. Coming back a second time would be too much.
I had to handle it swiftly.
Shruk!
The massive stele, three zhang in size, was sucked into my spatial pouch in an instant.
Kiriririk!
At the same moment, red eyes like things were summoned all around, flashing with light, and I hurriedly grabbed Miho's hand and activated the Bi Deung.
Paht!
Miho and I reappeared in Cheonram's room, the laboratory housing the still-incomplete Super Prodigies. This place also lacked separate guards, with only the corpse-spirit boys and girls lying on the stone altar.
I furrowed my brow.
'Four of them?'
The number had increased. Last time, there had been only one corpse-spirit girl, but now there was a boy beside her, a beauty in her twenties, and a towering giant of a man. In about a year, the alchemist had added more test subjects for the Super Prodigy experiments.
No time to hesitate anyway. Without even confirming the Super Prodigies were in a dormant state, I extended my spatial pouch and sucked their bodies inside. After storing all four, I grabbed Miho's hand again.
Paht!
Miho and I emerged once more in the True Wolf Valley. The rapid successive uses of the Bi Deung in such a short span left me feeling drained of tension and focus. Miho seemed the same, leaning against the great hall's porch with a slightly fatigued expression.
"Haa... haa..."
"We did it."
Mangnyang, who had been waiting for us, smiled faintly.
"Well done."
By now, the alchemist and the Demon Horse Hall forces in the palace would have made considerable progress on the Super Prodigies. Of course, we couldn't just sit idly by and let them grow stronger, so we'd snatched the incomplete Super Prodigies midway and taken the crystal stele to prevent them from making the Sage's Stone!
It was a form of checkmate.
Mangnyang said,
"Don't take the crystal stele out here. Your spatial pouch is a subspace, so it can block spell-based location tracking, but the moment you pull it out, they'll pinpoint its location. If the Demon Horse Hall tracks us to True Wolf Valley, it'll be a disaster."
He seemed to assume tracking spells were obviously in place.
"Then what do we do?"
"Two options."
Mangnyang handed me a gourd filled with water from the well.
"First, take it to the most remote, isolated place you know and start deciphering it there. Needless to say, the alchemist isn't a mage capable of ultra-long-distance spatial jumps, so you can forget about tracking for a while and decipher it at leisure."
I gulped down the water and said,
"And the second?"
"The crystal stele itself is a tremendous divine treasure. By offering it to the gods, you might gain new abilities or blessings."
"Hoo..."
The latter appealed to me. Even if I looked at the crystal stele, I had no idea how urgently I needed the Sage's Stone right now, nor did I feel like putting in the effort. Better to just offer it to the gods like the Manual of the Demon Night.
"Well, that's something we don't have time for right now anyway."
"What about the Super Prodigies?"
"Same issue..."
Mangnyang gave a wry smile.
"Flying off to Dongyeong on my own to research them would be ideal, but as the head of the Anti-Heaven Alliance, I'm in the middle of building our forces, so it's not feasible. We can do it after crushing the alchemist."
"Um..."
I could tell Mangnyang was bound by certain constraints. If he had no burdens, he could research the crystal stele and Super Prodigies freely in some far-off land, but his position as Anti-Heaven Alliance leader made it tricky.
At that moment, another idea occurred to me. But it would amount to betraying Mangnyang, and there was no immediate reason to try it, so I shelved it in my mind.
Mangnyang said,
"With this, we've bought ourselves at least five years."
"Five years."
"During that time, we need to expand the Anti-Heaven Alliance as much as possible, build our strength, and ensure we can stably crush the enemy. You, Baek Woong, just focus on maximizing your martial arts."
After pondering deeply, I said to Mangnyang,
"This time, the emperor isn't dead and remains intact—what's your plan?"
"The emperor's death last time was a highly unusual situation. Direct rebellion is off the table for now. We're gathering Clear Stream Sect figures and politically pressuring the emperor."
"The emperor himself is fully cooperating with the Demon Horse Hall—do you think that's possible?"
"That's the key point."
Mangnyang sat nearby and said,
"If the emperor is cooperating with the Demon Horse Hall of his own will, it could render our opposition meaningless—or it could work in our favor."
"What's the difference?"
"If he's willful enough to reject the alchemist's contract, it means he could also willfully cast out the Demon Horse Hall. At least it means the emperor isn't a puppet being controlled by them."
"......!!"
"That's the best approach for now."
The emperor expels the Demon Horse Hall!
Indeed, if that happened, there'd be no need to form the Anti-Heaven Alliance and go through all that trouble. The problem was the emperor allying with the root of all evil to wield power and might. As I muttered to myself and nodded, Miho, who had been listening, burst into laughter.
"Ahaha... You're just saying what Baek Woong wants to hear. Is it really that easy?"
"It won't be easy."
"The ruler has joined hands with the Demon Horse Hall for immortality and eternal life. Unless we offer greater gains or pressure, the emperor won't sever ties with them. And for a ruler, what could surpass immortality and eternal life as recompense?"
"......"
Miho's laughter carried the perspective of a power-wielder who had dominated Dongyeong. Indeed, if immortality—the ultimate desire of any ruler—was on offer, the emperor would never abandon the Demon Horse Hall. After a moment's thought, Mangnyang said,
"Even if we don't fully convert him, there are other ways. It's just that this is the most ideal."
"Uhu hu... It's a thorny path."
"No choice, is there."
With a sigh, Mangnyang said to me,
"Baek Woong, that's why your role is crucial. No matter how skilled I am, using the Anti-Heaven Alliance to confront the palace has limits. You create variables by acting, exposing the enemy's weaknesses—so move proactively."
"Got it."
We returned to True Wolf Valley and sought out Dao Wang. Dao Wang had unpacked and changed into commoner's attire, like a refined lady from a good household. A beauty exuding vibrant yet pure allure stood there.
Dao Wang Bi Ji-sang spotted me and chuckled.
"You look busy."
"I am busy."
I replied indifferently and said to her,
"Dao Wang Bi Ji-sang. You need to tell me everything you know. The circumstances of meeting Dongbang Mugeol, how you ended up gambling at Wu Hou Temple, and who those monkey-masked freaks were..."
"So that's what you wanted to ask."
"I expect your full cooperation. I don't want to resort to torture."
Dao Wang Bi Ji-sang's eyes narrowed. It looked like a smile.
"You seem soft, but you're just as cold and resolute. Not the cultivation of mind someone your age could have."
"Cut the nonsense."
"Fine. It's not important anyway, so I'll tell you."
She began recounting how she met Dongbang Mugeol.
"When Dongbang Mugeol came to me, he made a proposal. There was a big gambling table, so he begged me to join him."
"Dongbang Mugeol begged you?"
"Yes. I already owed him a debt, so I followed him on the condition it be forgiven. First, he wanted to test my skills, so we toured Sichuan's gambling dens. Once my skills were verified, we went to Wu Hou Temple."
"A debt? What debt?"
Bi Ji-sang shook her head.
"I can't say. It's a personal debt between him and me."
"Hmm... Continue."
"We arrived at Wu Hou Temple and played mahjong. We brought the mahjong set ourselves, and two black-clad men in monkey masks were already waiting. I won completely, claiming all sixteen countries, and Dongbang Mugeol thanked me."
"That's it?"
"Yes."
"You don't know who the monkey-masked ones were? Or why hold mahjong at Wu Hou Temple..."
After pondering my question, Bi Ji-sang said,
"I'm not sure, but the monkey-masked ones seemed like tremendous experts. Even Dongbang Mugeol wouldn't lightly consider using force against them. He seemed to have staked an enormous reward on that game, and afterward, I saw him whispering with the monkey-masked men."
"......?"
"I don't know why at Wu Hou Temple. Probably only Dongbang Mugeol knows."
Dumbfounded, I said to Bi Ji-sang,
"Wait, so you know absolutely nothing? You went into such a dangerous situation blind?"
"That's what made it fun."
"......"
Exasperated, I stared at Dao Wang Bi Ji-sang. This woman had something broken in her head. As long as a gamble could thrill her, she'd dive in headfirst, wagering her life, oblivious to everything. It was a mindset beyond normal comprehension. Suddenly, as if remembering, she said,
"...Oh. Come to think of it, I do know where Dongbang Mugeol went. He said he was off to meet someone called the Black Prince."
"Black Prince? What's that?"
"The top fist arts expert in the Southern Barbarian Lands, apparently."
"Hmm."
The Black Prince of the South. What kind of guy was he?
I'd gleaned unexpected info, but still puzzled, I asked her,
"What's Dongbang Mugeol's goal anyway? Why leave the Central Plains for the Southern Barbarian Lands?"
"He said he wanted to cure his illness."
"An illness."
"Clearly, he won't return to the Central Plains until he finds a way."
As I sank into thought, she clasped her hands and said,
"I want to join your group. It seems like it could be fun."
"In that case..."
I subtly glanced at Miho. As if waiting, Miho suddenly cast her enchantment on Dao Wang Bi Ji-sang. Bi Ji-sang's eyes glazed over, and soon she toppled backward. There was no way she could resist the enchantment that felled even Peak Expert Jang Bong in one strike.
Miho grumbled,
"Why not just enchant her from the start?"
"Enchantment alone can't draw everything out, and we need to gauge how sincere she is toward us."
"Hmm... Are you interested in this girl?"
"Why does it always veer that way."
I let out a hollow laugh.
"She's beautiful, but her temperament is beyond what I can handle. Even if she were ten times more stunning, I'd refuse."
"Uhu hu, to get such an assessment from you, Baek Woong—she must be something. Then again, being obsessed with gambling is terrifying."
Giggling, Miho began interrogating Bi Ji-sang.
"Now, look at me..."
After methodically enchanting and questioning her bit by bit, we confirmed Bi Ji-sang hadn't lied once—everything matched. She truly knew almost nothing about Dongbang Mugeol and seemed genuine about joining us.
"She absolutely won't talk about that 'personal debt.'"
Enchantment couldn't reveal everything. If someone shut their mind with iron will, those parts stayed sealed. Finishing the interrogation, Miho said,
"She seems fine."
"Good. We could use another expert."
"Where to now?"
"To Gu Geuk-ho."
I handed the unconscious Bi Ji-sang to Mangnyang and headed to Guanzhong with Miho, where Geuk-ho was. Upon arriving in Guanzhong, Miho and I stopped at an inn for a meal. Miho slurped her noodle soup and said,
"Baek Woong. How much are you planning to tell Geuk-ho?"
Miho's question was crucial. I considered Mangnyang and Miho full comrades, so I'd shared nearly everything, including my reincarnations. But Geuk-ho was neutral, with no trust built. Telling him [I experimented by passing the Marriage Annihilation Wave to the Sword Master in Dongyeong] would just get me labeled a murderer.
After a moment's thought, I said to Miho,
"Miho, help me out."
"How?"
I replied confidently.
"The honey trap."