Chapter 267
Chapter 267
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 267
Chapter Title: Heavenly Realm
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Heavenly Realm
After hearing the secret of the Seal Release Ritual from Mangnyang, I headed straight for Astana. The building where Astana's prophet resided was, as before, buried in the midst of a snowy plain gripped by extreme cold. Before stepping into the building, I recalled what Mangnyang had said.
[There's no need to provoke the Jegal Division right now. Assume you can obtain the Nameless Scripture at any time and negotiate with the prophet using only the Nine Stars Main Scripture first.]
Indeed, there was no benefit in drawing the attention of the Jegal Division when my own faction wasn't even solidified yet. I took a moment to breathe deeply, then walked inside.
Creak
As the door opened, the prophet's figure soon appeared atop the altar of the grand temple. Upon spotting me, the prophet stared silently and spoke.
[A human who wields the Lamp of Al-Hazard freely... Quite the peculiar existence.]
"Prophet. I've come to make a deal with you."
[A deal...? What do you wish to trade?]
"A grimoire and knowledge!"
I spoke briefly, then pulled the Nine Stars Main Scripture from my throat armor and held it up. The prophet, now brimming with curiosity, replied.
[It holds value for a trade... What knowledge do you seek from me?]
"I want to confirm the truth and obtain the sorcery of the Other Races."
[Two things... I must weigh their importance.]
"Will you accept?"
[Of course...]
With the prophet agreeing to the deal, I questioned him without hesitation.
"As you know, this is one of the Seven Essentials: the Water Desire Muyao. You know what it is, right?"
[Of course... Surely you didn't come just to ask that...]
"No. I'm here to correct your misunderstanding."
[What...?]
Remembering how I'd died so absurdly in my sixteenth life made my teeth grind. But I forcibly suppressed my anger and continued.
"You believe that to grow the liberated Water Desire Muyao, you must slaughter living beings with it. And even if it grows, you think there's no such thing as the descent of the Old Ruler Ithacqua. Am I right?"
[Yes... What's wrong with that...]
I stated firmly.
"You're wrong. Once the twice-liberated Water Desire Muyao grows, Ithacqua's soul descends, annihilating the host's soul and rampaging out of control."
[Madness... The Seven Essentials contract between the Three Sovereigns, Five Emperors, and the Old Ruler isn't like that... With an avatar possessing it, there's no way the contract could be broken—what nonsense is this...]
The prophet showed rare signs of anger. He seemed utterly convinced his knowledge was flawless. Seeing this, I realized he wasn't deliberately deceiving me, and pressed on.
I stared straight at him and said.
"Shall we bet on it? If I'm right, you grant one more of my requests."
[Fine... Let's bet... If you're wrong, your soul and body are mine... Do you accept...?]
"Agreed!"
I swallowed hard. For a mighty archmage like the prophet to mention a soul trade meant failure here was as good as death. I tried to ease my tension and pulled the obsidian from my bosom.
[Obsidian...? Could it be you know the memory storage sorcery?]
"Of course."
The prophet muttered in disbelief.
[Strange... Even among our kind, only a handful of sages and mages can use that sorcery... How do you know it...?]
"You don't need to worry about that now. The important thing is I can use the obsidian sorcery."
[Very well... What memory will you show me?]
"My previous life!"
Whoosh
I extended the obsidian containing the memories of my sixteenth life toward the prophet. He hesitated briefly, then reached out a tentacle to take it. Once he fully grasped it, I activated the obsidian sorcery.
Wooooong!!
Moments later, the prophet shuddered, then went still. His tentacles drooped limply, making him look dead. An eerie silence filled the grand temple before he stirred again, rolling his eyeballs as he spoke.
[Impossible... I can't believe it... You must have tampered with it...]
"You know as well as I do—this sorcery of your race can't be falsified by any means."
[The caster's will can still selectively show only parts...]
I sneered at the prophet's objection.
"Is that so? Then tell me where I edited or distorted it."
[......]
The prophet struggled for a long while, trying to recall the memory. After about half an hour, he finally sighed in resignation.
[I... lost...]
I grinned broadly.
"Haha! I win the bet."
[What do you want...?]
"Before that, one honest question out of pure curiosity... Where exactly did it go wrong? I trusted your words implicitly and paid in blood for it."
The prophet fell silent for a long time before replying.
[You're apparently a rare being with the ability to transcend time through reincarnation... Extremely unique and scarce, but not unprecedented in the universe... Assuming you have a next life... I'll share my thoughts.]
"Tell me."
The prophet spoke calmly.
[The information I obtained about the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors' Seven Essentials came directly from the Heavenly Realm's Taixu Tianzun.]
"Taixu Tianzun?"
A familiar name surfaced.
[Yes... I descended to the mortal world from time immemorial, before the Heavenly Realm even existed... Then, after the Heavenly Realm was established, I sought to speak with its supreme leader. I needed to know about the Seven Essentials.]
I thought for a moment, then pointed out the flaw in his words.
"Taixu Tianzun is exalted, but not the supreme leader. Aren't you mistaken?"
[You're right... The Heavenly Realm's sovereign is Yuanshi Tianzun... His attendant is Taishang Laojun... Taixu Tianzun is two ranks below Taishang Laojun... The avatar of Yingbao Tianzun... Relatively low among the Three Pure Ones... Insufficient to represent the Heavenly Realm.]
"Then why deal with Taixu Tianzun?"
The prophet replied curtly.
[Higher beings than Taixu Tianzun... didn't appear. Even summoning spells got no response.]
"What?"
[I had no choice but to learn of the contract between the Three Sovereigns, Five Emperors, and the Old Ruler through Taixu Tianzun... The growth and awakening methods for Water Desire Muyao I told you about came from then. How could I doubt it?]
[......]
The prophet's words pointed to one clear fact.
'What? Taixu Tianzun lied to the prophet about the Seven Essentials?'
Taixu Tianzun might be lower among the Three Pure Ones, but he was still a high celestial immortal overseeing qi cycles! It was hard to believe such a being would lie to an Other Race. I pressed the prophet accusingly.
"You're an Other Race, a potential enemy of the Heavenly Realm. Maybe Taixu Tianzun lied because of that."
The prophet bristled slightly and retorted.
[Grr... You know nothing of our relationship with the Heavenly Realm... We are in a relationship where we must absolutely coexist.]
"What do you mean by that?"
[You think all Other Races are servant species following the Old Rulers...? Not all are. The Old Rulers are arrogantly cruel deities, so many species in this universe seek ways to survive by placating them... We are one such.]
"Hmm!"
[Human flesh isn't even that tasty.]
The prophet rolled the eyeball on his tentacle as he said this.
[Do you think the Heavenly Realm truly protected the mortal world with just the immortals' power...? Impossible... Moderate factions like us restrained the extremists... Sometimes closed the gates to the Dark Heaven Fragrance... Helped humans... That's how the current world endures.]
[......!!]
[Lips gone, teeth cold. Taixu Tianzun wouldn't lie to me, the leader of my kind.]
From the prophet's words, I realized he'd been thoroughly deceived too. The Heavenly Realm and moderate Other Races cooperated to maintain mortal peace, so he never suspected a being like Taixu Tianzun of lying.
I asked the prophet.
"Then why did Taixu Tianzun lie?"
[I don't know... There's undoubtedly a mythic-level secret involved. I'll start investigating it myself from today.]
"Hmm. Good luck."
At the same time, I glared at him and added.
"But first, let's settle accounts properly."
[...Speak... What sorcery do you want?]
"First, a sorcery that can inflict major damage on an apostle of the Old Rulers. This is payment for the grimoire."
Right now, this was my top priority. The power of Dalgi, apostle of the Old Rulers and demon king, was overwhelmingly immense, so ever since barely enduring with Xiang Yu's blessing back then, I'd been seeking ways to counter him. Hearing this, the prophet replied slowly.
[You've already encountered an apostle, it seems... Tell me about your experience with that being.]
I described the demon king Dalgi in detail. The prophet nodded and said.
[To face Dalgi... First, eliminate the absolute barrier protecting its body... Then seal its immense demonic power. Only then will it be reduced to a level humans can fight.]
"You have a good sorcery for that?"
The prophet pondered briefly before saying.
[Then I'll teach you a spell borrowing the power of a baleful god...]
"Will it work?"
[I don't know... Probably.]
[......]
I stared at him skeptically at the uncertain answer, and he explained defensively.
[Old Ruler demonic power can only be countered by that of another Old Ruler... No convenient sorcery exists to easily handle a god's apostle.]
"Understood."
I immediately received the baleful god spell from the prophet. With it, I could now invoke the secret incantation borrowing a baleful god's power. It seemed usable by humans even without pronouncing the alien tongue.
Knowing the payment for the grimoire remained, I pressed on.
"I still need the bet's reward. You must grant one thing I ask, no matter what."
[Ugh... Speak.]
"Hand over the rarest and most powerful sorcery from all you know!"
[......]
The prophet's body shrank dramatically. His tentacles twisted wildly—it seemed his way of despairing and lamenting. I'd never seen an Other Race show such emotional shifts, so I watched curiously. Soon, he spoke.
[Immortality—how about that?]
"Immortality comes in many forms. And with reincarnation, I don't need it much."
[Damn... Then telekinesis?]
"I can do similar with intent. Why would I need that?"
[......]
I was starting to get the knack for cornering the prophet. I eyed him slyly and hinted.
"Think carefully. Something only your kind can do... A sorcery even gods covet. You promised with your word-spirit, so you must pay up on this bet."
[Hmm... Fine. Take this.]
Whoosh
Crackle!
Moments later, the prophet extended a tentacle to my arm. A stinging pain followed as an unknown alien script branded my forearm.
"What's this?"
[I've inscribed your soul with authorization to use the Tower of No Windows. This settles the bet.]
"What? What's the Tower of No Windows?"
Eager, the prophet spoke rapidly without pause.
[With access to the Tower of No Windows in the Southern Barbarian Lands, you can go to any continent at will. You'll also wield our kind's exclusive weapons there and unseal the Giant Race. Even that brute you call the Nose Gangster will be easy to eliminate. This privilege is granted to only a select few of my kin.]
[......?]
Bewildered, I prompted him, and he snapped irritably.
[Now get out. I've embedded the info in that brand, so even in your next life, the same gamble won't work. You swindler...]
Flash!
Moments later, I was forcibly ejected back to Jinrang Valley. Like when the prophet had expelled the Jegal Division before, I'd been teleported against my will. True to his thousands of years as an Other Race, he wielded tremendous magic.
"He could've at least explained what the Tower of No Windows is."
Grumbling, I had a rough idea inside.
When Cheon-sang Goeui of the Eastern Invincibles headed to the Southern Barbarian Lands on a commission from the White Lotus Cult Leader, the ruins guarded by Other Races there—the obsidian Tower of No Windows—that memory lingered with me.
'I definitely got something huge, but I don't know if it's good or not.'
Feeling a bit unsatisfied, I calmed myself and used Bi-eung again to head to Dongyoung.
'It's not even a day since the ritual. Miho must still be here.'
I arrived via Bi-eung at Dongyoung's Heavenly Palace. As I scanned the surroundings, Transcendent Ghost and Rear Ghost appeared warily, just like before. Knowing they were Miho's familiars, I smirked and called out.
"Miho! You got the recall order from the Heavenly Realm, right?"
Woooong
Moments later, Miho dismissed her familiars and appeared before me. She wore an unprecedented guarded expression. In her voluptuous, peerless beauty form, she spoke to me in a thorny voice.
"Who are you?"
"Queen Mother of the West forgave you, yet you're still not thinking of returning to the Heavenly Realm?"
At my friendly question, Miho slightly lowered her guard and replied.
"You're the human Queen Mother mentioned?"
"I don't know what she said, but it's true your banishment is lifted."
[......]
Her next words made me flinch in shock.
"Get lost right now."
"What?"
Miho showed none of her previous amiability toward me. Instead, she glared like a fox facing an intruder in her lair, eyes filled with killing intent.
"Queen Mother ordered me to retrieve Moon Yao to the Heavenly Realm. I have no time to play with a human like you!"