Chapter 205
Chapter 205
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 205
Chapter Title: Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
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I returned to Jin Rang Valley with Miho first. No matter how long we waited, the sun wouldn't set, and the clear weather persisted in this utterly bizarre phenomenon. If it turned out to be some wicked sorcery, that would spell trouble.
Mangnyang listened to our story and said,
"That's the polar day phenomenon. It's just a natural occurrence, so don't worry."
"Polar day?"
"Hmm... During your reincarnation, I explained to you that this world is shaped like a round sphere. This is a phenomenon caused by that very principle."
"......?"
Mangnyang drew a round sphere on the ground and said,
"If this is the world we live in, it orbits around the sun. Theoretically, it's also inferred to rotate on its own axis. Being spherical, the bulging parts will receive more sunlight as it revolves around the sun, while the concave parts receive less, right?"
"Ah..."
"The North Pole is the place that receives the least sunlight. It's like the top of a person's head, so not only does the sun not set, but the stars there also revolve around the North Star."
"It's an amazing place."
"You don't need to understand it all. It's just a hypothesis anyway, and not important."
Mangnyang muttered that, then said,
"Anyway, with daylight all day, scouting should be easier. So, what were the scouting results?"
"I'm not sure. If we've truly reached the Northern Continent, I don't know if we just keep heading north from there..."
"Is the Su Yo Mang Ya not reacting?"
I pulled out the Su Yo Mang Ya from my item pouch. I'd left it with Mangnyang for sorcery practice until we set off for the North Pole, but now I figured I'd need it in earnest, so I took it with me. I placed Mang Ya on the great hall table and shook my head.
"There's no reaction at all. It's so unresponsive that I doubt if this is really the legendary spiritual treasure."
I'd originally expected that once we reached the Northern Continent, the Su Yo Mang Ya would sense the secondary seal site and give some signal. But even after wandering around there for a good while, Mang Ya showed no sign of awakening.
Mangnyang crossed his arms and stroked his chin.
"Let's think back to what Astana's prophet said about the Su Yo Stele."
"Hmm..."
Mangnyang sat quietly, seeming to rack his brains for about half an incense stick's time. Then he said,
"The order seems different."
"How so?"
"First, the Su Yo Stone Stele said '[There is no trial]'. But it implies you must meet the [God of Silence] to unlock the secondary seal. And to meet that God of Silence, it says '[Cut with blood to awaken the ancient bloodline]'."
"Cut with blood to awaken the ancient bloodline... I have no idea where or how."
"......"
Mangnyang thought long and hard. Then he sighed.
"There are too many uncertainties. To unravel this properly, there's only one way."
"What way?"
"We need to make a deal."
I realized what Mangnyang meant.
'A deal with Astana's prophet for knowledge!'
I said worriedly,
"I want to, but I have no more demonic tomes. He has no interest in gold or spirit pills..."
"There's one more demonic tome."
I'd never told Mangnyang about the Heavenly Dark Secret Book in this lifetime. Moreover, in past lives, I'd kept its existence hidden except when interpreting it. But Mangnyang's tone was meaningful, making me tense for a moment. He smirked and said,
"You have the Nameless Sacrificial Book, don't you?"
Flash!
Following Mangnyang's suggestion, I teleported via Bi Deung to the Inner Imperial Pavilion in the imperial palace to steal the Nameless Sacrificial Book. Of course, to minimize detection, I waited for nightfall before infiltrating. The moment I appeared in the Inner Imperial Pavilion, I spotted the Nameless Sacrificial Book on the shelf right in front of me and gave a wry smile.
'I really did well to note it back then.'
In my 12th reincarnation, when I offered my manual to the Supreme Heavenly Lord and received qi superposition, I'd infiltrated the palace and confirmed the Nameless Sacrificial Book's location. Remembering it precisely, I shoved it into my item pouch right away.
I glanced around cautiously.
'I didn't trigger any barriers, right? Should I pull back now?'
That's when it happened.
Shiiiik!!
With a sharp sound, something azure lit up in the dark Inner Imperial Pavilion. As it gradually took human form, my face stiffened. I'd thought I wasn't detected, but stepping into the Inner Imperial Pavilion must have triggered a detection barrier.
It was undoubtedly Pavilion Master Je Gal Bu.
I still couldn't handle Je Gal Bu one-on-one because of his treasures and White Cloud Fan.
But with this much leeway, it was enough. Without a word, I quickly used Bi Deung to move to a deserted area near Luoyang.
Flash!
I didn't go straight back to Jin Rang Valley because I was wary of any tracking sorcery that might have latched on in that instant. Standing still in the empty plains for about an hour, and seeing no pursuit, I then headed to Astana's grand temple.
Opening the large doors of the grand temple and entering, the prophet emerged.
[What brings you?]
"Prophet. I have a deal to make."
I said curtly and pulled the Nameless Sacrificial Book from my bosom. Sensing the demonic power within it, the prophet flinched. He rolled his eyes, looking this way, and said,
[A powerful demonic tome. Will you trade it?]
"With the Nameless Sacrificial Book, you can do a lot for me."
[Nameless Sacrificial Book... I see...]
The prophet looked at me and said,
[Hand it over to me.]
"I need to know first if you have the information I want."
[A fair point... Tell me, what do you wish to know?]
I stated the information I wanted.
"I went to the North Pole to unlock the Su Yo Mang Ya's secondary seal, but it showed no reaction. Where do I go to meet the [God of Silence]? What does '[Cut with blood to awaken the ancient bloodline]' mean?"
The prophet listened to my question and extended his pincer-like limb somewhere. Like pulling something from an item pouch, he grabbed a massive stone from empty air, utterly mismatched in size. Rubbing the stone and muttering, he said,
[Give me the Nameless Sacrificial Book, and I'll answer.]
"No tricks, or you're done."
I tossed the Nameless Sacrificial Book to the prophet, and he immediately said,
[Cover Mang Ya thoroughly in your blood and plant it in the Northern Continent's earth. Then an ancient demonic beast will take you to the God of Silence.]
It was a simpler, more certain answer than expected. Suspicious, I asked,
"How do you know that right away?"
[I can read fate. I merely amplified that power temporarily using the demonic tome you gave me...]
That's when it happened.
Shiiiing—
Flash!
Suddenly, azure light surged from empty air, and moments later, Je Gal Bu appeared. Seeing him, I was shocked.
'What the hell?! How did that bastard get from the Central Plains here?!'
The reason I'd lingered an hour near Luoyang was to check if the Nameless Sacrificial Book had tracking sorcery. Thinking it fine when nothing happened, I'd come to Astana's grand temple, far from the Central Plains, figuring Je Gal Bu couldn't possibly follow.
Yet Je Gal Bu had placed tracking sorcery on the Nameless Sacrificial Book and flown here, thousands of li away!
"You thief."
"How did you get here?"
"No need to know. You're dead soon anyway."
Je Gal Bu glared at me once, then looked at the prophet standing blankly on the altar. He let out a short exclamation and cupped his fists toward the prophet.
"I, Je Gal Bu, greet the great race."
[......]
"You seem to have the Nameless Sacrificial Book. Return it at once. It belongs to the imperial family, stolen by that thief! It must return to its rightful owner."
As a non-human, the prophet showed no particular reaction. No change in expression, just his sinuous body moving silently. Then the prophet replied to Je Gal Bu.
[If it must return to its rightful owner... this Nameless Sacrificial Book belongs to that evil god slumbering in Lr Lüe.]
"......!!"
Je Gal Bu flinched in surprise. The prophet slowly moved to the altar's center and picked up the Nameless Sacrificial Book.
[I have already received ownership of the Nameless Sacrificial Book from So Woong. I paid the price. Due to the nature of demonic tomes, we recognize physical possession over essential ownership, so it is mine.]
"Ridiculous! I'll take it by force."
Je Gal Bu unfolded his treasures and White Cloud Fan. Until then, I'd been watching for an opening to strike, but none appeared. I tensed, wondering what sorcery he'd use. If he fought with the Falling Soul Star Tablet, this place would become chaos in seconds.
But the moment the prophet raised his left pincer limb.
Flash!
Je Gal Bu vanished from the spot, making his battle stance pointless. Truly evaporated—no trace left. I thought it might be invisibility, but it didn't seem so.
"What did you do?"
[I just sent him back where he came from.]
Mastery of space-time sorcery, perhaps.
The prophet answered curtly and continued,
[We have a bit more time, so ask what you want.]
"Hmm..."
I stopped thinking about the evaporated Je Gal Bu. The prophet seemed highly skilled in his race's sorcery, especially space-time arts. Je Gal Bu was impressive crossing thousands of li, but if the prophet repelled him, I didn't need to worry about pursuit.
'What to ask?'
Everything tangled up now involved his race, so questions piled up like mountains. But given the prophet's nature, he wouldn't answer them all. Better to ask only what benefited me now. After racking my brains, I said,
"I want to learn your sorcery! With the remaining payment, how much can I learn?"
[Sorcery, huh. Specifically, what do you mean?]
"The most convenient or powerful ones you know."
Learning the異族's sorcery!
My item pouch and Bi Deung were made with what they called magic—異族 sorcery—so the original arts had to be powerful. Indeed, the prophet had just hurled Je Gal Bu back to the palace before my eyes. Heart pounding, I watched the prophet. He rolled his eyes and said,
[Not a fair trade. Without knowing what you desire, complaints are inevitable. I seek perfect fairness—do you agree to further discussion?]
"Fairness? What fairness?"
[I need to know your desires... needs... psyche more deeply. Only then can I impart appropriate sorcery for the price...]
"How do you plan to find that out?"
The prophet extended his pincer limb toward me and said,
[Agree to share the source of desire. If you do, I'll use sharing sorcery to discern your core psyche...]
"......"
Source of desire?
I pondered deeply. Was this a deal worth accepting? The opponent was ancient, over thousands of years old, wise beyond measure—perhaps smarter than Mangnyang. Rash additional deals with such a being didn't sit well.
'Damn. But refusing means no deal...'
I gritted my teeth. Worst case, in the next reincarnation, I'd come back and extract more. Mangnyang risked life and sleep to grow stronger; I needed to cross even riskier bridges.
"I'll accept."
[Good.]
Whoooosh—
Soon, a transparent white thread formed between me and the prophet, with an azure light orb in the middle. My mind felt drawn into the orb, and simultaneously, I sensed the prophet's desires and thoughts fleetingly. But it was too profound and deep for words—closer to the instinctive unconscious realm.
'Is this the source of desire...?'
This wouldn't reveal major secrets. Indescribable. But it revealed the strongest unconscious desires or grudges. Maintaining the sharing thread long, the prophet said,
[I see. I've found suitable sorcery for you...]
The prophet stopped the sorcery and severed the thread. As I looked at him, he continued,
[I will impart the Obsidian Sorcery to you...]
"Obsidian Sorcery?"
[Obsidian stores memories with the highest efficiency among precious metals. You can use this sorcery to store your own memories...]
"......?!"
What nonsense was this?
Dumbfounded, I pressed him.
"That's absurd! Why would I need sorcery to store memories?"
[Your source of desire clearly needed it. Your inner psyche holds the pain of struggling to handle the flood of information.]
"......"
[Storing memories in obsidian means you can discard useless ones, optimizing consciousness efficiency. It even raises your talent limits.]
From his explanation, I guessed something and shut my mouth.
'Indeed...'
Lately, explaining my past lives precisely to Mangnyang or Miho was getting hard. Having reincarnated 14 times meant far more experiences than average, and recalling them in detail required immense mental effort. It even hindered training, as I feared forgetting memories mid-focus.
I asked him,
"Can others read obsidian storing my memories?"
[Of course. That's its original purpose... You can store and recall your own at will.]
Then the prophet boasted slightly.
[Consider yourself lucky. The demonic tome's price fits perfectly. This sorcery is passed only among our great race—a high-level art. I'm taking a slight loss.]
"Tch..."
Pretending to grumble, I replied,
"Fine. How long for the transmission?"
[As long as it takes a human adult to eat.]
"Just say half an incense stick..."
I received the Obsidian Sorcery via memory transmission from the prophet. His kind didn't teach sorcery through words or practice but directly transferred memories. Once done, I knew I'd perfectly mastered the Obsidian Sorcery.
As a bonus, the prophet gave me three obsidians and said,
[A gift... Now you know: larger obsidian holds more memories. Find more yourself.]
"Thanks."
Smiling triumphantly with the obsidians, I returned to Jin Rang Valley.
'Perfect.'
Memory distributed storage!
From now on, the risk of memories mixing or confusing was greatly reduced.