Dark Sky Village
The twelfth life has begun.
“Phew, what a situation.”
I sat in the barn, staring blankly for quite a while.
To die from Lu Dongbin‘s rampage after his descent!
To be honest, I hadn’t thought I would live for long, but it felt absurd to die like that. Who would’ve expected that the Golden Eagle Commander would transform into a demon, and that Lu Dongbin would come down to save the day, only to expend all his energy and perish?
But perhaps from Lu Dongbin‘s perspective, it made sense. The forces from the Demon Subduing Hall, who sent the Golden Eagle Commander, seemed to have aimed to open a dimensional gate leading to Dark Sky Village. If that were to open, it would bring about a Great Scourge, so as a celestial being who protects humans, Lu Dongbin had to stop it, even at the cost of my life. Since he had once saved my life, I decided to let it go.
However, the bigger problem was the reason for failure.
I had clearly succeeded in drawing most of my connections to Luoyang to form a significant force. Normally, that alone would’ve wiped out the remnants of the Golden Eagles without any issue. Yet due to continuously worsening conditions, I had to leave Luoyang without having fought properly.
‘My eleventh life had a lot going on. So, I can’t quite grasp what led to my defeat.’
This was a first for me.
Until now, it had been clear what I did wrong, making it easy to find answers, but in my eleventh life, I’d experienced so much that pinpointing it became difficult.
“Ugh…”
I pondered for a long while but still couldn’t figure out what I had done wrong. If I had to point something out, it might be that the rescue of Hwang Yeon was delayed, yet I felt there was something more to it. It was a gut feeling from my past life.
So what should I do?
‘For now, I must save time.’
I decided to first obtain the Heavenly Secret Manual and Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng and think things through.
As I began to move, my whole body felt stiff and painful. My inner power was fully charged, but due to the aftereffects of the Great Scourge, it felt like my muscles had been shocked. I gritted my teeth, suppressing the pain for about half a Jikyeong before I started to dash out.
Getting the Heavenly Secret Manual was no longer even a talking point. After obtaining it, I tried to read the contents again, but I still couldn’t understand it. Immediately, I turned towards Mount Huang.
Thud thud thud
While running towards Mount Huang, I attempted to use the Soul-Extinguishing Steps I learned from Geuk Ho whenever I could. However, it just made my steps look like a disabled person’s; it was nothing like the miraculous steps Geuk Ho had performed. I even started to suspect that Geuk Ho had intentionally taught me the wrong technique. But considering that he taught Lee Kwang first, that didn’t seem likely.
Upon arriving at Mount Huang, I obtained the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng and dug up the flowers and roots of the Black and White Lotus, then scored the Water Element’s relic.
Splash
After collecting the gold, I began to fight against the Giant Spider with my sword. Until now, I had managed to handle them nicely, but with my greatly improved swordsmanship, they felt like easy prey. As soon as the Giant Spider leaped up from the abyss, I launched a fire attack and dashed forward.
Slash!
[ Kyaa!! ]
After unleashing Thunder Call and the Baek Woong Technique, I managed to skewer the Giant Spider in less than 50 seconds. This time, I slammed its corpse against a nearby wall. I pondered how to obtain its Inner Core, and after some thought, I decided to unleash my fire attack and slash away at it.
Thwap thwap thwap
Acidic fluid splattered everywhere as the Giant Spider’s corrosive bodily fluids erupted. After a while, I noticed something dark in the lower part of its cephalothorax. I thought it might be the spider’s Inner Core, but I wasn’t sure, and most importantly, I had no idea what kind of toxin it might have. Furthermore, I needed to save time this time, so I couldn’t afford to waste it here.
‘Next time, I’ll take the risk and try to get that Inner Core.’
I collected the Water Element’s Energy and left with the gold. Putting everything I had obtained into a large bundle, I set off again.
I dashed madly to Jinrang Valley, and this time, perhaps because I ran desperately more than before, I arrived much faster. It felt like I cut my previous record by more than half a day. I even stopped by Taekyeong Village to collect a Phoenix Sculpture, and I still made it quicker, so I really did my best.
Rustle rustle
“Umm… umm…”
Mangnyang was sound asleep in the night. I barged into his house and shook him awake.
“Mangnyang! Wake up.”
“Ugh… Huh?! W-who are you?!”
Mangnyang screamed in surprise. I answered calmly.
“I’m just a wandering martial artist passing by.”
“Oh, is that so?!”
Mangnyang looked at me with a baffled expression but scratched his head and said,
“Tsk… You’ve come all the way to Ye through Mangujin, so it seems you have something to say. Close the door; it’s cold.”
He didn’t seem to think I was there to harm him. I nodded, closed the door, and lit a candle in the hall. Mangnyang dressed quickly and sat cross-legged, speaking.
“You don’t seem like an ordinary person, but what brings you here at night?”
“… Mangnyang. I’m a reincarnator named Baek Woong.”
“Huh?”
“And as you may have read in the stars, a disaster from the Water Energy is about to strike.”
I used even more time this time to explain in detail. Last time, I had briefly explained it within half a Jikyeong, but now I held him for a whole Jikyeong, explaining everything I had experienced to the best of my ability.
“Whoa!”
When I showed Mangnyang the Water Energy and Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, he looked astonished. His overall reaction was similar to last time, but there was a slight difference. Particularly when he heard about my tenth and eleventh lives, he seemed to fully trust me and entered deep contemplation. As I finished my story and waited for his reaction, he spoke while resting his chin on his hand.
“I see. I will believe this statement about reincarnators. I have no choice but to trust it.”
“Thank you.”
While others might dismiss this as vague nonsense, Mangnyang was different. By stating such, he implicitly gave me his absolute trust. After sinking back into thought, Mangnyang spoke again.
“… So, you do not know the reason for your failure in your eleventh life.”
I nodded.
“That’s correct. In fact, I should’ve come to you as my greatest ally, but I didn’t know the reason well beforehand. It didn’t seem like there should have been a reason for major failure, but what do you think caused it?”
“……”
Mangnyang fell silent before responding in a dry voice.
“I don’t want to think about it, but considering I abandoned the base at Luoyang and went to Zhang Ling Valley to rely on my uncle, that was the worst-case scenario I could think of. It meant I was in a really dire situation if I was forced to rely on that scoundrel.”
“Eh?!”
“I probably didn’t want to worry you, which is why I didn’t say this, but my relationship with my uncle is extremely hostile. Despite being able to live luxuriously if I went to Zhang Ling Valley, I chose to hide in Jinrang Valley for that reason. That person is a despicable human who takes advantage of his intellect.”
Mangnyang, who had been pouring out his disdain, continued speaking.
“In any case, the biggest factor in my failure was the rescue time limit.”
“Is that so…?”
“But it’s also true that it’s not just that. The bigger reason was that there wasn’t enough time to build up strength.”
Not enough time to build strength.
As I echoed those words in my mind, Mangnyang spread out a strategy.
“Think carefully. Lee Kwang’s actions might appear like the reckless path of a manly man on the surface, but in truth, he was merely responding to unexpected situations with impromptu adjustments. In that context, I had just formed an alliance with the Half-Celestial Alliance not long ago, so it was essentially a precarious setup.”
“Is that so?”
“Exactly. While both Lee Kwang and I initially acted calmly, inwardly, we must have felt like we were walking on thin ice. We were far from adequately prepared.”
That might be true.
Even with the Thunder God School, I had merely gathered a few disciples related to Lee Kwang, and it was only because we were rushed by the Golden Eagles that we hastily formed an alliance with the Half-Celestial Alliance. The weakness of that alliance was precisely the instability of our cooperation.
“Thus, trying to save time recklessly won’t solve anything. In other words, the confrontation with the Golden Eagles and the rescue of Hwang Yeon should be thought of as separate issues. It would at least require years for a stable foundation to take root and grow.”
“I don’t quite understand; please explain.”
“It’s simple.”
As Mangnyang continued, I widened my eyes in surprise.
“The best scenario is if you alone rescue Hwang Yeon.”
“……!!”
“Of course, that’s only in theory.”
“Why is that?”
Mangnyang sighed.
“The moment you gather everyone to draw the Golden Eagles’ attention while making Hwang Yeon’s rescue the main objective, the entire alliance of the Half-Celestial Alliance and the Thunder God School becomes an easy target. It would likely cause a significant waste of time.”
“Hmm.”
“To avoid that, it’s best for a third party to intervene, without anyone knowing, to rescue Hwang Yeon. That way, as the Golden Eagles fall into chaos, you buy time.”
Only then did I finally grasp Mangnyang’s words. Indeed, Mangnyang pointed out something I had never considered. After saying that, Mangnyang folded the scroll again and said,
“However, the disappointment is that while heading to Goryeo, we have to engage in battling pirates. There’s a significant reward at stake, so it seems almost impossible for you to skip this process. Time will be hard to conserve.”
“That makes sense.”
“But don’t worry. I have a plan.”
“What is it?”
Mangnyang explained his plan to me in great detail for about a Jikyeong. I couldn’t help but clap my knees in realization during the explanation.
“Indeed, doing that will reduce time consumption!”
“But think carefully – if you don’t have confidence in your current skills, it would be better not to pursue this strategy. It might actually be better to endure a round trip to Goryeo and save as much time as possible in the Central Plains.”
I shook my head.
“No. I will follow your plan.”
The next day, I set off with Mangnyang and arrived in the village where Cheon Woo-jin was. This time, I hid the Heavenly Secret Manual in the pine forest and entered the village to meet Cheon Woo-jin, who greeted me with a frown.
“Who are you, and what’s going on in this village?”
“Master, don’t pretend you don’t know me. I’m your brother, Mangnyang.”
“Who wouldn’t know their own brother? Suddenly bringing a martial artist here, what are you trying to accomplish? Don’t you know how hard things have been for our Master lately?”
Cheon Woo-jin’s reaction was particularly intense compared to the previous ones. It seemed that since we had disturbed him at night, he was on edge. Mangnyang calmly persuaded him.
“It’s very important, so I beg you.”
“… Alright.”
After a moment, Cheon Woo-jin seemed convinced and began preparing a ritual. Once again, Cheon Woo-jin performed the incantation, and Taixu Tianzun descended upon him.
Taixu Tianzun looked at me curiously as Cheon Woo-jin was possessed.
[ Who on earth are you? ]
“What do you mean?”
[ Your heavenly fortune is overlapping. This is something that shouldn’t exist for a human, even if they were to die and be reborn… Moreover, I can even feel my own power – what in the world is happening? ]
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
When I replied, Taixu Tianzun stroked their nonexistent beard and said,
[ In any case, take blessings from others. ]
“I have a quick question.”
[ What is it? ]
“Is having the power of blessing really that important? And why can’t multiple blessings be given?”
This was something I had wanted to ask for a long time. Oddly enough, whether it was Taixu Tianzun or Xi Wang Mu, they seemed reluctant to give me further blessings as long as they felt their powers were showing. Then Taixu Tianzun took on a posture as if to stroke their nonexistent beard again and said,
[ Of course, it is possible to give multiple blessings to one person. However, if that happens, a human’s soul would breakdown from the overwhelming capacity of blessings. Multiple blessings require a vast amount, and the soul of someone who is not an immortal is feeble and small, unable to endure.]
“Is that so…”
[ Nevertheless, if you truly desire so, I could bestow it upon you. What will you do? ]
“What happens if your blessing duplicates?”
[ Naturally, there would be an unmatched Great Fortune throughout the world. But that’s only if you can withstand it.]
I nodded.
“Yes, please give it to me.”
[ Very well. I will grant you my blessing. ]
Fwoom!
Moments later, a divine light seemed to descend upon my entire body. I felt intense warmth from every single ray of light. Mangnyang, who was watching the ceremony beside me, was taken aback and shouted,
“Ah, n-no, Baek Woong, what are you doing?!”
“I’m just testing if the blessings overlap…”
You wouldn’t know until you tried. I felt the urge to test this out.
“W-what?!”
Mangnyang turned pale. Then, he shut his eyes tight and shouted at me,
“Go to the Imperial Palace in Luoyang instantly!”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t have time to explain. Just save every second and break into the Imperial Palace to fight those from the Golden Eagle Guards!”
“Huh?”
“And find out as much as you can! That would be the best course right now!”
What is he talking about?
Under normal circumstances, I would have thought this was sheer nonsense and stared blankly. I would have even asked for clarification. But I gazed at Cheon Woo-jin and said,
“Could you take me to the Imperial Palace?”
Cheon Woo-jin, who had clearly heard everything, looked at me with a mix of disbelief and amazement. He let out a sigh.
“There hasn’t been anyone like you who made such a choice. I respect your foolishness.”
“……?”
“Safe travels.”
“Oh, wait a moment.”
I rushed out to grab the Heavenly Secret Manual from the pine forest. Then, Cheon Woo-jin cast a long-distance teleportation spell for me.
Fwoosh!
The next moment, my body arrived inside one of the palace chambers in the Imperial Palace. It seemed that with Cheon Woo-jin reaching the level of Illusory Divine, long-distance teleportation was within his capabilities. I was lost as to what was happening, but I focused on conjuring a map of the Imperial Palace in my mind as I proceeded forward.
‘Forget it; it’ll work out somehow.’
Just then…
Boom boom boom!
Kaboom!!!
Something suddenly fell from the sky, echoing a massive sound of destruction and a flash, shockwave ringing through the air. I hurriedly tried to dodge the explosion and shockwave coming toward me, but strangely, the explosion seemed to not affect me in the slightest.
As the explosion concluded, I saw portions of the Imperial Palace burning from the blast, clouds of dust rising. In an instant, more than half of the palace seemed obliterated.
“Uwaaaah.”
“What the hell is going on?”
“A meteorite has struck!”
Indeed, a massive meteorite had suddenly plummeted from the skies and smashed into the Imperial Palace. I hid, using Invisibility Technique, observing the chaotic scene as people around me screeched in panic, and a Golden Eagle Commander rushed by, shouting,
“This is bad! The Qimen Dunjia has been destroyed! All personnel, head to protect the royal family!”
‘Oh?’
I felt a surge of curiosity. It seemed that due to the meteor impact, the Imperial Palace’s most disastrous Formation had been shattered. As evidence of this, the immense pressure that had weighed down on my body vanished since earlier. I used Invisibility Technique and Qinggong to swiftly slip away as confusion erupted around me, heading toward a specific location.
‘There’s only one place to go!’
The Naehwanggak of the Imperial Palace!
I needed to find the Nameless Ritual Book, stored in the world’s deepest point. I roughly found the location of Naehwanggak based on the map, only to see a Golden Eagle wandering around near the entrance. I stealthily dashed forward and knocked them out.
Thud
“Ugh…”
I stripped the Golden Eagle Commander of his attire and roughly cut it to fit. Maybe passing through as a young Golden Eagle would work, at least for now. Once I got inside the Naehwanggak, I noticed that, due to the impact of the meteor, its barrier seemed to have collapsed.
The Naehwanggak had five floors in total. I could see an astounding number of chronicles on the first floor, but something told me I wouldn’t find what I needed there, so I casually climbed to the second floor. Ascending to the third, I followed this inexplicable intuition to a certain spot, and astonishingly, there lay the Nameless Ritual Book.
Nameless Ritual Book
There were signs that someone had previously interpreted and researched the Nameless Ritual Book nearby. It seemed that they had been fortunate and vacated the Naehwanggak just now. I pulled out the Nameless Ritual Book and tried to read it, but as expected, I couldn’t decipher it, so I shoved it into my pocket.
I then climbed to the fifth floor of the Naehwanggak, where a lean and handsome man sat cross-legged. As if he sensed my presence, he spoke softly.
“What extraordinary luck you have… with a meteor fallen, a barrier smashed, and unluckily I’m unable to move due to the aftermath of a technique, and the Golden Eagle Commander has gone berserk, while the being of another realm is straining due to lacking strength, all this while a superior being is being audited – have you come to see me?”
“……”
“Then come. Take my neck. This world can truly be consumed by luck alone…”
Seeing that lamenting man, I was taken aback. So, I said,
“Excuse me, I don’t know who you are, but why should I kill you?”
“Intruder! Do you not know who I am? I am Zhuge Fu, the Naehwanggak’s Master, the great conjurer guarding the barriers of the Imperial Palace!”
“Uh…”
“……”
A peculiar silence followed. It seemed like Zhuge Fu caught onto something, as he sighed deeply and said,
“What a reckless man you are.”
“Well, what do you want?”
Hahaha!
Suddenly, Zhuge Fu laughing maniacally said,
“I want to see just how far your luck can go. Head over to the Great Emperor Hall.”
“Why do you want me to go there?”
“Because the Emperor is there.”
“……!!”
Zhuge Fu smiled bitterly.
“Let’s see if your luck can penetrate the darkness of this era.”
I didn’t entirely understand the situation. However, my heart pounded.
‘The Emperor?’
The Emperor was the central figure in this messy crisis. If he were the head of the Demon Subduing Hall and the one giving wicked orders to the Golden Eagles, then cutting off the Emperor’s head alone could end everything. Of course, I’d become a criminal targeting the Emperor, but I couldn’t care less about that. It was incredibly tempting to meet the source of this calamity to gather information or even snuff out his life.
I glanced back at Zhuge Fu before saying,
“If I don’t have any grudges, I don’t intend to kill; thanks for the info.”
Turning my back, I headed straight for the Great Emperor Hall next to me. Indeed, it seemed that the barrier had also been destroyed here, allowing me to enter without any resistance. There were Golden Eagles everywhere, but they seemed completely dazed at the moment.
[ Groooaaaar. ]
“Ughhh!”
“Commander, focus!”
Tentacles frantically shot out flames and lightning, and the Golden Eagles were becoming cold corpses as they were hit. The Golden Eagle Commander appeared to have completely lost control, rampaging like a demon. Facing this berserk creature was a white-faced beauty trembling in rage, shouting,
“You bastard! Are you killing my subordinates?!”
“Hwan Ya, what do we do?”
“What do you mean, what do we do?! Hold this position until the royal army arrives! If this place breaches, the Emperor will be in danger!”
It seemed the imperial bodyguard, Hwan Ya, was managing the remaining Golden Eagles, trying to stem the tide against the berserk Commander. Fortunately, I successfully bypassed their vision to slip into the interior of the Great Emperor Hall.
Thud thud thud…
Strangely enough, there were no concubines or harem members in the Great Emperor Hall. While the harem and Empress would typically have separate quarters, the vast building felt utterly deserted, save for an eerie, rhythmic pulsation occasionally felt.
I walked deeper inside, when suddenly, I began to feel an overwhelming magic that almost made my head spin. It felt similar to the sensation I’d experienced from the human magician I had defeated before. As I approached, I noticed a door and wholeheartedly opened it.
Crash…
Inside were two figures.
In the middle, a middle-aged man who looked like the Emperor sat on a throne, while on his right stood a mysterious figure cloaked in black garments, arms crossed.
Upon spotting me, the Emperor spoke impatiently.
“Alchemist. What is that child?”
The figure in black, dubbed an alchemist, replied quietly to the Emperor.
“He carries an immense thread of luck. That meteorite was summoned by this child’s sheer fortune.”
“Luck?”
“Hehe… What will you do, Your Majesty? Will you renew your contract with me or surrender your soul to Dark Sky Village?”
The leisurely laughing alchemist appeared to show no respect for the Emperor, speaking in a demeaning tone. The astonishing part was that the Emperor himself appeared unfazed by it, sitting quietly with a reflective expression before muttering,
“I have no such thoughts; a contract of immortality is enough for me.”
“Alright… then it’s time for my withdrawal.”
“You bastard…”
“I owe you no loyalty, Your Majesty.”
Whoosh!
The alchemist suddenly vanished as I stood there, dumbfounded. The Emperor spoke resolutely,
“Intruder, go ahead. But ending my life will be no simple task.”
“No, but I was wondering why…”
“I already know you’ve come to take my life.”
Boom!
Just then, another meteorite crashed down from the sky, creating a shockwave and explosion. The meteorite landed precisely where the Emperor sat; he didn’t even have time to scream before his whole body exploded apart, his remains scattering like a gruesome mess.
Thud!
“……”
Witnessing the Emperor’s sudden demise left me lost for words. I had only walked this far unseen, and yet I had just witnessed the entire Imperial Palace become a wasteland and the death of its ruler. I clearly understood the effect of the overlap of luck at that moment.
‘When Great Luck overlaps, unmatched fortune continues throughout the world.’
Just then, Taixu Tianzun’s voice echoed in my mind.
[ Your fortune has ended. ]
Kaboom kaboom kaboom!
“Argh!”
The next moment, I was swept away by the storm of meteorites falling upon the entire Imperial Palace. The sheer magnitude of they struck left no way of blocking or avoiding the blast. It felt as if the entire Great Emperor Hall were being obliterated.
As I watched the immense flash before my eyes, I realized,
‘…And when great luck ends, Great Calamity must surely bring death…!!’
Kaboom!
That marked my twelfth death.
Slight adjustments made.
