After Gyeoryu left, I returned to the Meeting Room.
The Archlords stayed right where they were, and I decided to conclude the meeting after obtaining the previously mentioned Lifespan from Nok Woo-rim and Unbaek.
“Lord Jooam and I agreed that I would cross over to Lord Heukmuhyang later for a settlement. I think it’s best to wrap things up here for today.”
“I understand.”
“Got it.”
“……”
Cheongjinryeong nodded and exited the Meeting Room.
Nok Woo-rim, having fainted, was quickly taken back by the Ascetics of Heukmuhyang to care for their Archlord.
The only ones left were me and Unbaek, who were getting ready to leave.
Unbaek bowed deeply.
“Thank you.”
“Good work… huh?”
“If you hadn’t stopped me back then, various issues would have arisen. I’m really grateful.”
“That’s just common sense.”
It was obvious that he had been itching for a fight, so of course, I had to step in.
Above all, Lord Jooam’s intention was glaringly clear.
“Provoking Unbaek to induce chaos.”
The more Unbaek threw a tantrum, the higher the cost to be imposed on Baekmu-hyang, and inevitably, the price I had to pay to Heukmuhyang would decrease.
“I didn’t like what he was doing either.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a relief. I’m the same way.”
Unbaek grinned.
Even though I had partially missed Lord Jooam, Unbaek seemed quite pleased that he had successfully cornered him.
“Is there anything you desire? I can accommodate anything within my ability.”
[Oh]
[Anything?]
[You shouldn’t say that so casually]
[Hehehe]
[Step aside, I’ve got something to test]
[Anything?!!!!]
[Chat Window level ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[What are you imagining with a kid?]
[Fr]
[Oh my]
[Info) Just looks like a kid, but has a lifespan twenty times longer than Lily]
“Anything, you say?”
“Yes. Revenge… that may sound a bit much, but you’ve given me the revenge of the heart. I want to repay you as best I can.”
“It might be a bit excessive. Are you sure?”
“I don’t care.”
It seemed like Unbaek had already ‘prepared’ everything. He started listing out what he could offer.
Expensive Spirit Herbs, training partners, ancient knowledge of Baekmu-hyang, playful relationships…
“Huh? What kind of relationships?”
“The Ascetics pursue Celestial Beings, but there are often those who enjoy more than just the necessary fun. I think I can help fulfill those aspects.”
“What type of playful relationship are we talking about?”
“There are various kinds. I will do my best to accommodate you. I can also change my appearance if needed.”
“Is that possible?”
“……”
[???]
“Wait, seriously?”
[LOL]
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves!”
[Whoa…]
“What did you think, LOL?”
“Looks like someone’s head is filled with nonsense.”
“Legendary, LOL.”
“Is Unbaek a virgin?”
“That’s a bit disappointing.”
“Don’t mess with Yena if you have Lily!”
“I like this version better.”
[?]
The chat window gets chaotic all of a sudden.
From what I gather, they seem to be referencing some kind of… activities.
But honestly, what Unbaek is talking about doesn’t sound like that to me.
Even though it was a short time, she didn’t seem like the type to engage in such things.
Something about…
“Got it. Shall we head to the room then?”
“Alright… Huh?”
“You said let’s play, right? You’re not backing out now, are you…?”
“???”
Dozens of question marks float above Unbaek’s head.
She looks like her brain has short-circuited, her mouth hanging open in shock.
“No, no, no! That’s not what I meant!”
“Really?”
“I-I just meant! Let’s just have fun! Like, simple role-playing…”
“I did say simple role-playing, you know? What were you thinking?”
“Ah, ah, no! That’s not it…”
[LOL]
[LOL]
“What is this?”
“Are you serious?”
“What? That’s kinda cute.”
“Making fun of Lily is just hilarious.”
[LOL]
“Looking back, she really does seem like a virgin.”
“LOL for real.”
“Big Lily.”
“She’s blushing.”
“Still, she can’t be completely clueless…”
[? LOL]
“She knows everything, LOL.”
With her face flushed, Unbaek waved her hands around wildly.
No matter how renowned an ascetic she is, she’s still quite young compared to her power and experience.
Of course, ‘young’ is relative to ascetics, so she’s probably several hundred years old.
“Um, er…”
Most importantly, even though I’m multiple times older than her, having seen many with a much lower mental age, I don’t find it that special.
There are demon races who act like five-year-olds even after living hundreds of thousands of years (and that’s just a guess; it could be more!).
Unbaek seems like a real angel compared to them.
I chuckled, shaking my head.
“I was just kidding. There’s something else I need your help with.”
“Ah, I see. So it was a joke. Yes, yes.”
“It might be a bit uncomfortable, but is that alright?”
“If it’s something I can do… Ah. Of course, I can’t engage in any weird activities… not that I wouldn’t want to, but it feels… kinda weird—”
“This is related to your mother, Unbaek.”
The playful atmosphere she had while waving her hands took a sudden turn.
She looked at me, her expression now tense.
“What?”
Jooam mentioned that Baengnyeong, Unbaek’s mother, sought power beyond her grasp and died because of it.
In this place, it’s not weird to desire strong power.
Ascetics were always those who cultivated for higher realms, so it’s perfectly natural to struggle for stronger abilities.
The problem is that Baengnyeong was a “Display Case Practitioner.”
At the level of a Display Case Practitioner, absorbing any power from Jangmugye should be manageable.
Even if it’s the power of Gyeoryu, it should never have been to the point of death.
But in the end, Baengnyeong couldn’t handle it, and just before dying, she passed everything on to her daughter Unbaek.
In other words,
“The power Baengnyeong coveted might just belong to Mokmujin.”
Mokmujin, who operated in the shadows.
Perhaps the power that led Baengnyeong to her demise was indeed Mokmujin’s.
Mokmujin is presumed to be part of the True Immortal.
“Aha…”
“Plus, the power Unbaek used was oddly stronger than a typical Display Case Practitioner. If she inherited Baengnyeong’s legacy, it wouldn’t be strange for her to wield even greater power.”
“Right.”
Inside the castle of Jeokmu-hyang.
‘…Can I think it over and talk later?’ Unbaek said, and I told her to take her time, then returned to Jeokmu-hyang.
On the top floor of the palace, Yena, who had arrived late, was waiting, and I spoke in front of her to give an explanation to the viewers.
[Hmm]
[Poor Unbaekㅠㅠ]
[Is that so]
[What is Mokmu-whatever that keeps causing a ruckus]
[Yeah ㅋㅋ]
[Yena is so cute]
“Hmm, so you’ve inherited lifespan then?”
“Except for Heukmuhyang, we’ve received all the lifespan. It seems like a promotion to Display Case shouldn’t be a problem.”
We collected all the lifespan needed for the Axis of Life for the promotion.
Of course, many lifespans are needed for the upgrade to the Marriage Device after the Display Case, but we’re at least okay for the Display Case upgrade.
However, I was first thinking of going to meet Heukmuhyang.
“If you use the lifespan recklessly, it’ll be a problem, right?”
“That’s true.”
If Jooam nonchalantly fed pure lifespan into something like the Axis of Life, it would be troublesome.
Of course, among the cultivation techniques, there are methods that help with the disassembly of the Axis.
But if that lifespan becomes mixed with the lifespan infused with the soul, the situation could get incredibly complicated.
I quickly finished preparing to head to Heukmuhyang, and Yena followed me with quick steps.
“Are you okay now?”
“Ah. I was completely flustered. I thought I was going to die rushing over after the meeting.”
Yena sighed.
And rightly so, because she was loopy from the Celestial Skewers and the effects of alcohol before rushing back to her house for an urgent meeting.
Then she hurriedly came back to be in a situation of union.
It must have been quite chaotic for her.
It could have been avoided.
[Let’s go, Grandpa!]
[Let’s kill, let’s kill, let’s kill!]
[Did you meet Yena again through some secret gathering?]
[At this rate, aren’t you guys basically meeting in real life? LOL]
[Hmm]
[We have been meeting often lately.]
[Something feels off though.]
Yena and I boarded the flying device, which floated smoothly towards Lord Heukmuhyang.
Lord Heukmuhyang is in the territory near Lord Jeokmu-hyang and Lord Cheongmu-hyang.
Distance-wise, it was quite far, but the flying device was so fast that we arrived at Heukmuhyang in about 30 minutes.
We soon reached Lord Heukmuhyang’s palace, but…
“Not here?”
“That’s right. Lord Heukmuhyang has not returned yet.”
Lord Heukmuhyang has bolted.
The servant who is always bowing could be lying, but really, I couldn’t sense Lord Jooam’s presence in Heukmuhyang’s palace.
He must have been hurriedly sent back home by Gyeoryu, which means he probably left Heukmuhyang as soon as he arrived.
It seems Gyeoryu is trying to cancel the ‘one-time exemption’ that was granted…
“This is troublesome. I need to meet him today.”
“Can’t we just destroy everything? If he’s run away, we need to show him some lesson…”
“That’s probably not a good idea.”
The exemption isn’t some sort of all-access pass.
It just helps with negotiations a little; it’s obvious that wanton destruction of properties would be prohibited.
If we pull something like that, Gyeoryu might show up in the air again and say, “This guy!”
[This is getting crazy;;]
[Let’s just kill them all.]
[What the heck is a Grandpa-run?]
[LOLOLOLOLOLOL]
[This is super petty.]
“How long does that exemption last?”
“They didn’t specify a time… but it should be at least for the ‘one visit’ case.”
In other words, whether it’s today or tomorrow, if we leave Heukmuhyang, the exemption will disappear.
Today is quite spacious time-wise, but the problem is time is relative for an ascetic.
“Honestly, it could be ten years before he decides to crawl back. It might even take fifty years.”
“Are you insane?! So what do we do?”
“……”
Abandoning his home and fleeing, Lord Jooam of Heukmuhyang.
Using the prohibition of extreme actions against him, there was no immediate way to capture him.
‘For now.’
“Ah?”
“? Why is that?”
“He might come back if we do this.”
Just in time, a great idea struck me.
“?”
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