Chapter 252
Chapter 252
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 252
Chapter Title: Heavenly Realm
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I decided to comply with Jeon Gal-sa's request. It didn't take long to place the Portrait Specter's corpse and heart into my neck pouch and head to Jangryeong Valley. The reason for going to Jangryeong Valley was that the altar was prepared there.
Paat!
"It would be nice to have the sect leader's fresh blood too, but oh well, it should be fine."
"What do you mean?"
"It's to minimize the ritual's backlash. Of course, it works without it too."
Muttering something bizarre, Jeon Gal-sa took the lead toward the inner building of Jangryeong Valley. As I followed him, I asked Jeon Gal-sa.
"As the lord of Jangryeong Valley, how did you make money and run the place?"
"What do you mean?"
"Though they're hired hands, there are quite a few second-rate experts waiting in Jangryeong Valley. Hiring people like that for years would require a huge amount of funds, but Jangryeong Valley doesn't seem to do business or take commissions separately."
This was something I'd learned while gathering information on Jangryeong Valley in a past life. Jangryeong Valley possessed enough force to be called a martial organization, but the source of the funds supporting that force was ambiguous. I was directly asking the lord of Jangryeong Valley himself out of curiosity about where that much money came from.
Jeon Gal-sa chuckled.
"You're quite interested in other people's business?"
"......"
"Well, it's not a big secret, so I'll tell you. The reason I had so much money was because I took commissions from high-ranking figures."
"Commissions?"
"I'm someone with a bit of talent in various things, and among them, I'm pretty confident in the sorcery of the Heresy Sect. Using that sorcery ability, I handled shady jobs that couldn't be revealed to the world and received hefty compensation."
As I stared at him silently, Jeon Gal-sa spoke irritably.
"Why? What's next? I didn't come here to spill my life story."
"Do you happen to know Mangnyang Jeon Hyeon?"
Flinch!
At that moment, the sly fox Jeon Gal-sa's eyes gleamed.
"Why that guy?"
"Mangnyang is the younger brother of Jeon Bu, the Inner Valley Lord you killed. So, did you put exploding loneliness in Mangnyang too?"
"Kekeke... What's so curious about that?"
I stared straight at him and said clearly.
"No matter what schemes you're hiding, I'll let it slide as long as it doesn't greatly harm the sect leader. The same goes for me. But if Mangnyang dies by your demonic hand, then I'll stake my life to kill you."
"......"
Jeon Gal-sa stopped walking. Standing still, he said.
"It wouldn't be proper to ask what relation White Protector has with Hyeon... That guy always had friends in every layer of society anyway."
He turned his head toward me and continued.
"But you can rest easy on that point. He's got some similarities to me and is a cute nephew, so I didn't go that far. I stake my name on it."
I replied in bewilderment.
"Cute nephew? Jeon Bu is your nephew too."
"Nephews are nephews, each in their own way. How can I find a arrogant, selfish bastard backed by the imperial palace and rising like the sun anything cute? I've wanted to kill Jeon Bu for a long time."
Jeon Gal-sa continued nonchalantly.
"And fundamentally, the Jeon family doesn't need pity from others. Don't you think it's rude for you to meddle in family affairs?"
"I apologize for that."
"Heh. I was going to let it slide if it was just idle chatter, but this is interesting."
Step
Step
As we resumed walking, we entered the deepest part of Jangryeong Valley, a place I'd never been before. The building didn't look that big from outside, but it grew darker inside, with deep passages branching everywhere. I realized we'd walked over fifty paces through maze-like passages, confirming this was a well-built fortress.
The cave was lit by torches, each showing signs of recent human maintenance. Probably changed not long ago. As I examined the cave closely, Jeon Gal-sa said.
"From now on, don't touch anything without permission. There's an formation laid out."
"What formation?"
"The Three Thousand Yang Earth Formation!"
Jeon Gal-sa walked slowly through the ant-nest-like branching paths without hesitation, as if following some law. Choosing the branches themselves seemed to be the key to the formation. Knowing Jeon Gal-sa's advice on formations was sound, I kept quiet and followed him through the Three Thousand Yang Earth Formation.
After a long while, we reached an exit leading to a massive chamber with an altar. This had to be the room for the ritual. Jeon Gal-sa stood before the altar and said.
"Place the corpse and heart on the altar."
"I have one more question."
"You're such a hassle. What now?"
Jeon Gal-sa showed clear annoyance, but I pressed on regardless.
"I heard you're half-disowned from the main Jeon family. Is that because of the Yi clan's sorcery and Heresy Sect sorcery you practiced?"
"You're poking at someone's sensitive spot without a care. We've only met for a day, White Protector, and you're being incredibly rude."
"You accepted the role of strategist for the Shadowless Sect. And a protector's job is to identify elements that could threaten the sect leader. Isn't it only natural for me, who serves the sect leader, to know your past?"
As I didn't yield an inch, Jeon Gal-sa made a strange expression.
"Not like the master of the Seven Needs, huh? Unique. Well, I don't hate that either."
Muttering, Jeon Gal-sa continued.
"Yeah, that's right. I majored in Yi clan sorcery and researched it for years, and when my brother found out, I was chased out of the main Jeon family. Of course, my brother is soft-hearted, so he didn't impose heavy restrictions on me, and I was too lazy for worldly affairs, so I just lived roughly in Jangryeong Valley."
"What about the Heresy Sect sorcery?"
"There were many references to the Yi in Heresy Church texts, so I ended up learning it while gathering materials. It's not really related to leaving the Jeon clan."
"Hmm."
"Done with questions now?"
I thought deeply and asked.
"You've been dead for years. Did you see the afterlife during that time?"
"The afterlife..."
Jeon Gal-sa stood there, stroking his chin, and replied.
"The afterlife does exist, but I wasn't there. Because I made another passage for [peeking] and resided there. My soul has been preserved in silence until now."
"What do you mean? Peeking?"
"There are worlds different from this one. Blood Realm, Illusion Realm, Asura Realm, and so on... I found those far more interesting than the human world."
I couldn't understand. Racking my brain with sorcery knowledge, I said.
"Wait! I don't get it. When humans die, doesn't the soul separate and head to heaven and earth? What happens to the soul after death?"
"Heh. Great question. That's what got me into my major."
Smiling darkly, Jeon Gal-sa said.
"To put it clearly, the afterlife exists, but it's a realm very different from human imagination. Yama the Great King or the underworld are completely different from what's known. Daoist or Buddhist explanations of the afterlife aren't wrong per se, but they're just scratching the surface."
"......"
"No more chit-chat. Explaining this properly would take three days and nights."
"Got it."
Swish
I took the Portrait Specter's heart and corpse from my neck pouch and laid them out on the altar.
A complex feeling washed over me at the same time. In past lives, I'd endured to stop cruel Yi clan atrocities like human sacrifice, and now here I was, performing one myself! Spotting my troubled expression, Jeon Gal-sa said.
"Don't think too deeply about it. These are dolls without souls to begin with."
"Have you done human sacrifice or offering rituals before?"
"Of course. Even then, I used substitutes like this."
There wasn't a trace of hesitation or shame on Jeon Gal-sa's face as he answered casually. His mindset was beyond my comprehension. As I stared at him, Jeon Gal-sa said.
"You seem to be misunderstanding, so I'll clarify: the human sacrifice ritual is highly efficient sorcery above all its brutality. Most Yi clan sorcery can't even be initiated without learning human sacrifice."
"Damn it... Is that supposed to justify it? Efficiency?"
"That's why they do human sacrifice—because it's efficient. No other reason."
Jeon Gal-sa continued.
"Why do you think the kings of the Silver Age kept performing brutal human sacrifice rituals? Sure, there were demands from ancient gods, but even when gods didn't demand it, humans offered sacrifices voluntarily. Because the results from human sacrifice were almost always immense rewards beyond human power."
"What are you talking about?"
"Ancient humans were weaklings. Without divine help, they would've gone extinct long ago. In exchange for sacrifices via human sacrifice, gods opened up hundreds of li of harsh lands, exterminated ferocious demonic beasts, and bestowed bountiful blessings. For the lives of a few humans, it was incredibly generous compensation."
I glared at him.
"I wonder if you'd say the same if you were the sacrifice."
Jeon Gal-sa grumbled in disbelief.
"What nonsense? That's exactly why I studied sorcery—to avoid being in that position. I've put in effort for my life too."
"......"
He was wrong. Our thinking was fundamentally different.
As I inwardly reeled in shock, Jeon Gal-sa's words continued.
"That Nine Yin Blockade Sword you're carrying is the result of a massive human sacrifice deal between gods and humans. At least as master of the Seven Needs, you can't deny the efficiency of human sacrifice?"
"I don't know if the Seven Needs were made that way, but that doesn't justify human sacrifice."
"Kuh. You're driving me crazy. Talking to you feels like talking to Hyeon."
Making a fed-up face, Jeon Gal-sa said.
"People in this world might think human sacrifice is someone else's problem, but it's continued from ancient times, is still happening now, and will continue in the future. As long as worshippers of the Yi-serving evil gods exist..."
"......"
"Anyway, let's do the ritual now. We can debate later as much as you want."
"Got it."
Jeon Gal-sa spent a while adjusting the positions of the Portrait Specter and heart here and there. After fussing with the positions for a long time, he wiped sweat from his forehead.
"This is the most annoying part. Getting the directions right."
"Directions?"
"The basic structure and order divide into four. The directional concepts of Four Herds, Four Pairs, Four Winds are fundamental laws of sorcery passed down for thousands of years."
"I've learned some Daoist sorcery, but I've never heard of Four Herds, Four Pairs, or Four Winds."
"Huh? Of course. This is knowledge from the era when gods descended directly to the world. Back then, there were no soul concepts or Eight Trigrams, but the four directions were necessary."
Jeon Gal-sa continued.
"It developed into Nine Celestial Fields in the sky, Nine Provinces on earth, Nine Mountains on the land—the Nine Provinces concept—and relates to the powers of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors... Anyway, that's the idea."
"Hmm."
"Good. Now spill blood on the altar."
Splash
As Jeon Gal-sa instructed, I slashed my arm and let blood flow. After spilling enough fresh blood, I staunched it with internal energy, and soon the altar was soaked in blood. Then Jeon Gal-sa knelt before the altar and began chanting strange incantations.
"#&^$*&@&%*^@...."
It sounded like unintelligible mumbling at first, but hearing it sent chills down my spine.
This is monstrous tongue!
It was intuition only I could know. Not pure monstrous tongue since it mixed a lot of Central Plains language, but ignoring tones, monstrous tongue was woven into the occasional flowing sounds.
Finishing the chant, Jeon Gal-sa said to me.
"The incarnation will soon descend here. Prostrate yourself, forehead to the ground, and absolutely don't look up."
"Got it."
Jeon Gal-sa and I pressed flat to the ground before the altar in silence.
Wooooong—
With eerie roars, something writhed and crawled out from empty space. I glimpsed its form reflected in the blood on the floor: thousands of tentacles, each branch tipped with eyeballs.
The incarnation crawling from the air settled on the altar after a moment.
Crunch
Crunch crunch
Unpleasant sounds rang out as the Portrait Specter was devoured in real time. The incarnation feasted for a while, and during the feeding, viscous blood flowed from the altar, tickling my nose.
Then, after a bit, the incarnation let out a grotesque noise and vanished back into the air.
Once the process ended, Jeon Gal-sa rose first from his prostrated position. After telling me to get up, he muttered.
"Fortunately, it went well. Seems the Portrait Specter's body was tasty."
"The [Ancient Ruler] won't curse us anymore?"
Jeon Gal-sa nodded.
"We no longer need to fear repercussions. No, more than that."
Jeon Gal-sa pointed to the altar.
"Left a gift too, it seems."
Gift?
I approached the gruesome scene where the body had been completely broken down into blood and flesh chunks. Looking at the altar, there was indeed something alien, as he said. A fist-half-sized, bright red, round meat lump with a pitch-black eye staring from its center—a monster.
Jeon Gal-sa yanked off a tentacle from the monster's head and said.
"It's the Blood Eye Fruit I've only heard of."
"What's that grotesque thing?"
"A divine gift called Blood Eye Fruit. Eating it grants special superpowers, they say."
Then Jeon Gal-sa unhesitatingly chewed and ate the Blood Eye Fruit. Blood spurted violently everywhere.
Crunch!
Crunch!
"Ugh..."
Feeling nauseous, I turned away. The Blood Eye Fruit had been staring like a living eye, and the sight of it being chewed was too horrific. I'd thought I'd seen every filthy, cruel sight in life, but this exceeded imagination.
After consuming the Blood Eye Fruit, Jeon Gal-sa wiped blood from his mouth and said.
"This is good. Very good."
Whiiing!
When Jeon Gal-sa extended his finger, a distant boulder suddenly lifted into the air. A boulder a full pace wide danced to his finger movements as if weightless. Jeon Gal-sa set it back down and said.
"Normal sorcerers can't get this level of telekinesis even after decades of training. Feels amazing."
"......"
I looked at the grinning Jeon Gal-sa and closed my mouth.
'I can't handle this...'
This guy's insane.
I couldn't guess how much I could get out of this mad monster.