Finally, I’ve reached the foot of Kunlun Mountain.
Of course, this isn’t where the Taoists live; it’s a human settlement.
If I pass through this human area, I’ll come to a place inhabited by creatures that are half human and half immortal, known as Taoists, and if I go further in, I’ll find the place where the immortals reside.
And the deeper I go, the more difficult it becomes for a person to enter alone.
Thinking about it now, I have no idea how I’ll get in, so let’s just go and figure it out.
I wish I could.
If there weren’t soldiers spread out in front of me, I’d probably be able to think about going.
Dozens of them. All mounted, pointing their spears at me. Among them, the person with the most distinctive armor and helmet stepped forward.
“The Emperor desires you. Come with us.”
No self-introduction, just an assumption that I should naturally obey his orders.
“I don’t want to.”
So, I expressed my thoughts. If I’d met them a little earlier, I would’ve followed immediately. According to my plan, if I wanted to create an automatic harvesting system among those in high positions, I need to go now.
I’ll turn them into harvesters to create an automatic harvesting system for warmth. That plan is still ongoing.
But that’s only if there are no rivals. If I turn the Emperor into a harvester this time, the immortals will come, overthrow him, and install another Emperor.
If I were an immortal, I would do just that.
Looking over the memories I’ve gained so far, most of the Kunlun immortals are righteous people. They didn’t sit back and let monsters make the world’s people miserable; they acted directly.
Murim Alliance and Cheonma Church.
Comparing these two, from a human perspective, the Cheonma Church is indeed a hideous villain. They’re the kind that would kill every living member of the Cheonma Church and then regret it afterwards.
They’ve already created a culture-society that is excessively alien, each one profaning human ethics, making it impossible to integrate.
Submitting to power is how most societies operate, so I’ll give them that.
But there’s something that should never be tolerated when it comes to humans.
They implant parasites into people.
If one doesn’t obey the words of those above them, they suffer at the hands of bugs.
This is a society where that kind of thing is the norm.
It’s awfully twisted.
If they had just killed the leader and spared the rest, the culture of the Cheonma Church would’ve transformed and reappeared in due time.
Because the one who learned that culture would still be there; just changing the outer shell doesn’t change the insides.
Once a culture is born, it rarely disappears.
So, the right choice is to eliminate them all first and then regret it later, and that’s exactly what they did.
I’m heading to Kunlun not because the Cheonma Church has fallen.
It’s because I have a goal.
Primordial Heavenly Sovereign.
Daegon was an enormous treasure trove of valuable information.
However, the foundation of special techniques relies on consuming a substantial number of offerings for oneself.
Yes.
They’re well-versed in using their own techniques. I wonder if I can reach the level where I can use this knowledge if I share it with the harvesters.
To put it in perspective, it’s like a useful technique can only be used by a character at level 100,000, and leveling up is at an impossible scale.
Or will someone like Daegon become a harvester, bowing to me as an opportunity?
Of course, I can’t use that technique.
But the ones from the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign side are different.
They are close to a technological civilization. They handle peculiar tools and utilize them, which is particularly appealing as it consists of knowledge.
If I obtain that, I could copy and paste it, right?
If there’s technology that moves the world…
“So, I’ll warn you one last time, monster. If you don’t come willingly, you will be dragged away in a pitiful state.”
“I told you I don’t want to.”
I’ve been tuning out the sounds of the Emperor’s authority and the power stemming from it, gloating about their greatness, while I’ve been lost in thought, and now they’re using the word “last.”
“Then, be dragged away.”
Before their words could finish, they pulled out a strangely shaped wooden board from their saddles and aimed it at me.
The board glowed, and suddenly, metallic white chains erupted into the air, binding me.
From the color, it doesn’t seem like steel.
It looks tough enough that Choseol’s strength wouldn’t be able to break it.
Hmm.
I felt this back when Cheonma bound me during our first meeting; simply restraining or sealing isn’t considered an attack.
When I’m usually hit, I feel their impact on my body, but now I feel nothing.
Thud.
I kicked back as if to say, “What are you looking at?”
My back emitted a pale blue light.
Several of those mounted atop horses stumbled and collapsed off their steeds. The ones who fell to the ground looked dazed, crawling towards my back.
Then, those who still had their wits about them dismounted and awkwardly crawled over to the bodies of their comrades, stabbing them with needle-like objects.
“Hah!”
They snapped back to their senses immediately.
“A device that preys on people. Could it also be used in the daytime?”
“To break through the mind protection barrier in an instant, it’s a danger at the lowest tier above the unclassified…!”
“Use the Hwonwon Simjinchang!”
They recovered from their disheveled state impressively quickly. The confusion quickly faded, and they finished their regrouping in no time.
And those who had been standing idle stepped forward, pulling out bizarre-looking spears from their saddles. As they aimed at me, even without any beams firing, my back shattered into countless pieces.
They all reacted with familiarity.
This implies they have considerable experience dealing with such situations.
But then again, in a world teeming with monsters, it would be odd for there to be no organizations dealing with such threats. Especially if a human is in power, there’s bound to be such organizations.
What if there aren’t?
Then the ruler is not human, or something governs the human ruler.
“Struggling is useless.”
The boastful human man said something. So, I need to get to Kunlun and meet the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign quickly…
Well, then, I’ll keep struggling as long as I can.
I gripped the white chains and pressed against reality.
Kaching.
A faint, long crack appears in the air.
The chains turned to dust.
“The chains of the binding spell shouldn’t be broken like that. Are you using psychic abilities?”
“Captain! In the air, that crack… Isn’t that the one that appeared when a monster emerged from outside?”
“Wait! The Wuyong monster? Could it be this guy is also a creature from another world?”
This crack seems to have provoked them, as they retrieved their gear and weapons which were a lot different from what they had before.
Armed with something resembling a lunar blade, they attempted to kill me.
Yes.
They’re definitely trying to kill me.
Well then, all I need is one push then.
“Humanity. Do you think you can kill me with something so trivial?”
Provocation.
The man’s expression hardened, and he dismounted. Others followed suit, aimlessly pointing their weapons at me.
As he gestured with his hand, three of his subordinates immediately charged at me. In the meantime, the man carefully observed me.
Careful fellow.
They closed in on me at an astonishing speed, as the three soldiers approached, swinging their weapons to slash at me.
With the sound of a broken TV crackling, my body got sliced apart. Instead of blood, black dust swirled from my wounds.
Is that me?
No, it’s not me.
I wondered if they had cut my main body, but it turned out to be just another method of treating the wound. Like how a hero would burn a severed limb of a multi-headed snake monster.
I guess it’s a function that makes healing more difficult.
And I received the warmth of three beings.
In an instant, the three people expanded like bubbles, parts of their bodies emerging that shouldn’t have been in humans, the unusual organs protruding.
Hmm.
I’m starting to grasp the sensation. This too.
The light turned black and shrank, yet the shape remained. Kind of like a crumpled bottle.
Daegon was huge enough to encase me and allow me to move.
To put it simply, it’s like getting inside a puppet costume and making it move.
To put me in the contract document would be like filling the cotton inside the puppet costume with the liquid of me, and this is strictly moving outside of the puppet costume.
I manipulated the three of them to stab their spears at the leader of the group.
Just a single motion.
With just that, the blackened light burst like a bottle forced to contain water. The corporeal form that had lost its light fell flat on the ground, shriveling up.
Crack, crack, crack.
No, it wasn’t shriveling.
In the spot where their corpses lay, a tiny hole floated in the air. Much like an alien getting sucked into vacuum from a spaceship in a faded memory from some sci-fi film, they were dragged inside.
Oh.
Speaking of which, Daegon died just like that. A massive crack opened up, and he was slowly pulled inside. Since the crack is connected to me, I know.
“Unclassified, monster?”
“Raise it two more tiers. It’s at least a minimum-ranked anomaly.”
“Captain! But we already subdued it; do we really need to raise it two more tiers?”
The captain, who had deflected all three flying spears, glared at me. Right, my body is still in pieces, leaking black dust from my wounds.
“If you’re wearing human skin, the body will emerge. If you’ve transformed into a human, the original body will reveal itself. But that one stays in that state. It means you aren’t harmed at all. Isn’t that right, monster?”
Crack.
The crack disappeared, and I regenerated. I cautiously checked whether any severed parts would reopen or any strange occurrences would happen, but nothing of the sort was presented.
This time too, there was no resistance, and I doubted whether I would collapse after regenerating, but surprisingly this seems weak in forcing reality.
Anyway.
“Yes. I’m perfectly fine.”
I walked forward.
It’s better to let them attack since time is dragging on; I can change each time.
Thud, thud.
The frightened humans aimed their weapons at me. However, the man who seemed like a captain raised his hand, signaling his subordinates to stand down.
“Step back. I’ll use that.”
“Captain! If you use that, this area will disappear!”
“It’s better to step back and let it collide with Kunlun. If the non-aggression pact with the Cheon Church is broken, it will be unfavorable for us.”
“Even if we fail to capture the unclassified anomaly, we won’t be punished! Here, we must take one step back!”
Then, the subordinates grabbed him and pushed him away. In the process, a few concerning words caught my attention. “This area will disappear.” This implies that there’s a weapon of destructive power like a bomb here.
And “non-aggression pact with Cheon Church.” I thought Kunlun might be weak with soldiers crowding, but it turns out there’s such a treaty. So, it means if I step into Kunlun like this, they won’t be able to act freely.
With that said, I wore a complicated expression. Eventually, even when I reached them, they only aimed their weapons at me but didn’t strike.
I bowed before the man they called the captain.
“Thank you for stepping aside.”
This is sincere. Even though we had a brief fight that delayed things, it’s better than continuing to fight here. Moreover, my glass bottle’s durability is getting shaky.
It can’t break before I reach Kunlun and acquire the technique. Among all these worlds, how many possess the capability to travel between worlds?
What’s the probability of having an opportunity that’s this close?
This is the chance.
As I took a few steps forward, the sound of hooves faded behind me.
They must have retreated.
Still, since the Emperor wants me, it’s not bad. If things go well, I might even get to meet the Emperor.
Recalling the fact that a spy from the Murim Alliance was within the Cheonma Church, it’s highly likely that a spy within the army exists too. They must’ve heard the rumors that I can heal people.
Regrowing severed limbs, healing illnesses.
And those include aging as an illness too.
That’s quite an appealing ability.
A power the ruler would desire. Given how much they want me, I’m confident that I can eventually build an automatic harvesting system as I envision.
But there are preparations to be made first.
So, I want to meet the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign as soon as possible.
As I thought that, a sharp sound sliced through the sky followed by a thunk.
A pitch-black spear erupted from my stomach.
And as soon as that happened, I acquired his memory and learned what had just occurred. He believed something fearful would occur if I entered Kunlun like this.
Having seen many monsters that triggered absurd actions upon meeting specific conditions, his intuition warned him not to send me to Kunlun.
I turned my gaze behind me.
In the distance, a man, satisfied with the grotesque body formed by abnormal growth of flesh and bones, grinned.
This spear was a memory embedded within the three beings, and the person glowing from it knew about it too.
The Extreme Yang Spear. It’s named after the son of an entity, and when its power is maximized, a sharp wave of heat spreads everywhere.
Barely having learned that memory, the spear immediately turned blue…
And I pulled the spear from my belly.
Yes, a bomb, indeed.
Crack, crack!
The air crackled since cracks were appearing around me, but I thought of a more amusing way to play with it. I approached the deranged man, who now had grown nine arms and had eyes sprouting all over his body.
And I shoved that bomb into his chest.
Did you know? The monster made from the warmth I took is similar to a harvester. It’s difficult to do it with humans, but given that he just started transforming, I might not have trouble.
Just learned, but I have a chance to control the monster once.
Wishing for a fusion, I shattered the light.
Nine of my arms twisted like flower buds to form a single flower-like object.
Hmm.
I just learned something.
Monsters, which are concepts first, become objects when their warmth is taken away.
Humans, while taking warmth from an appropriate object can turn into something else.
Wait a minute. This method of using a person feels familiar…
Ah! Tongcheon’s Ritual Method!
Thanks to Daegon’s memories! Truly, Daegon is giving me everything without holding back. I wonder how generous the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign would be?
Hehehe.
I arrived at Kunlun, holding that single flower.
