Chapter 710

Dark Heaven Village

I was incredibly curious about what had happened to Mangryang during that time. So I asked.

"Mangryang. What happened in the meantime? No... that's not it."

I shook my head and took out the obsidian from my neck pouch. It would be best to first transmit my memories through the obsidian to let Mangryang know what I had been through. But as soon as I pulled out the obsidian, Mangryang waved his hand.

[I'm not summoned here in physical form, so the spell of that obsidian is meaningless. The memories won't transmit.]

"Ah..."

[Just tell me.]

"Got it. I..."

I recounted in order everything that had happened to me after arriving at Dark Heaven Village. How I had suddenly been thrust into the disguise of a god, how I had released Shin Gongpyo from the seal, how I had battled Asura in Dark Heaven Village and then met Cheokcheon Muhu to talk, how I had offered servitude to the Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman to repel the Eight Divisions Divine Generals, and so on.

Mangryang listened calmly to my entire story for nearly half a shichen, then nodded.

[So that's how it was. In that case, after Asura died at Shin Gongpyo's hands, the Eight Divisions Divine Generals must have attacked the mortal world.]

"I think so too."

[...Now the pieces of the puzzle finally fit together.]

Mangryang muttered something under his breath, then continued.

[Baek Woong. What do you think was the reason I went to the underworld? Even risking a shortage of forces in that critical battle of the gods' era.]

"Honestly, I have no idea."

I really didn't. I had known since our time sharing lodging and meals in the southern continent that Mangryang was plotting something with the Zhuge family, but they hadn't told me the specifics. Why on earth had Mangryang gone to the underworld?

Mangryang held up three fingers.

[There were three purposes.]

"Three?"

[Yes. The first was to search for Yu Hui, the achievement you accomplished just before. Simply finding her, the lover of the Overlord of Western Chu, Xiang Yu, greatly increases the chance that Xiang Yu will become your ally in the future.]

".... But that alone wouldn't be worth risking the dangers of challenging the underworld..."

I trailed off.

Of course, finding Yu Hui would be a huge help, but venturing into the underworld was suspicious, especially with two divine immortals deliberately blocking the path—it was extremely dangerous. Challenging something that even all of us combined might barely handle would just lead to a dog's death. It wasn't enough reason for Mangryang to stake his life.

[Naturally, that alone wouldn't justify rashly deciding to challenge the underworld. The second reason was to confirm the current state of the underworld and verify the existence of the Ten Kings of Hell.]

"Is that important?"

I tilted my head.

As Abe no Seimei had said, Yama's throne was vacant, and the Book of Life and Death was being managed arbitrarily by the Southern and Northern Dipper Star Lords. It was highly suspicious. But it wasn't enough reason to risk one's life probing the underworld.

Mangryang explained in response to my words.

[It was extremely important. Because only by confirming this world's reincarnation system can we reach the truth of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and the future apocalypse. In a way, this was information we needed to verify in advance before you obtain immense power.]

"......?"

[Baek Woong. When people die, they go to the underworld. Then what happens after they arrive there?]

"Hmm..."

I thought deeply and said.

"I've heard that for the first 49 days, the human soul is judged by the Ten Kings of Hell, who then decide its fate. That fate is either reincarnation into the human world with memories erased, punishment in the underworld, or becoming a resident of the heavenly realm or another world."

[Yes. That's what I taught you when instructing you in Daoist spell knowledge in the past. And that knowledge is the accepted system that nine out of ten Daoists in this world believe to be truth.]

Mangryang paused for a moment, then said.

[But after insight into the knowledge you accumulated over your past lives, and hearing Abe no Seimei's words, it might not be that way.]

"What do you mean by 'might not'?"

[Human sorcerers can typically probe only up to the purgatory before hell, and those who enter hell's interior are exceedingly rare in history. So its depths have remained largely unknown until now....]

He hesitated even more, then said.

[What if humans don't actually reincarnate?]

".....?!"

[What if the heavenly realm has been deceiving humans all this time?]

What was this?

I said in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

[Exactly that. As you know, in five hundred years at the time of the apocalypse, not only the mortal world but all souls in the underworld will fall into the grasp of the [Ancient Rulers] and become food. But what if that premise is wrong?]

"......"

[What kind of situation do you think it would be if humans don't face judgment in the underworld after death?]

I finally understood Mangryang's words.

"N-No way?"

Mangryang sighed bitterly.

[Having come here myself to confirm, Abe no Seimei was right... Not just Yama, but all the Ten Kings of Hell had long since vanished. Moreover, the jailors and wardens who judge sinful souls in hell had lost their purpose and were merely drifting blankly in the void spaces. This place was no different from a barren desert.]

"Ugh!"

[Hell exists, but there are no judges. Without judges, the jailors and wardens have no work. This means the underworld has already lost its function.]

"...Then the souls of the dead..."

[I came to the deepest part of the underworld to trace their whereabouts.]

Mangryang continued.

[And while traveling the underworld in search of the souls' fate, I entered this Netherworld Mirror chamber and learned everything.]

"What happened?"

[All souls pass through the underworld once, then are sucked into an unknown dimensional corridor. Like a drain, not a single handful escapes, all sinking into the swamp of chaos.]

"That swamp is..."

[To put it simply, the belly of an [Ancient Ruler]. Though whose, I don't know.]

"......"

Not only I, but even Seomun Hye listening beside me went pale.

The common human belief was that after death, at least judgment by good and evil determines possible reincarnation. Some religions spoke of gods taking souls to a millennial kingdom, but in any case, there was a process of judgment by good and evil.

However—there was no such thing in reality.

After death, souls went straight into an [Ancient Ruler]'s belly without exception?!

Living Hell!

That phrase alone filled my mind. At that moment, the Zhuge family's words resurfaced in my head.

[I have no attachment to the afterlife or salvation. The fear of death comes from not knowing what lies after. But I know enough, and I despise the artificial salvation promised by the heavenly realm. It's ultimately just self-satisfaction.]

[My brother, his wife, and the entire Zhuge family... how we've been toyed by the heavenly realm's hypocrisy.]

And the old exchange with Mangryang came back too.

[Fang Xuanling is from a thousand years ago, and Dian Wei from nearly eight hundred. By the Buddhist principle of reincarnation, shouldn't they have gone to the afterlife and been reborn as new beings?]

[Hmm... It's complicated to explain, but on that question, I'll just say one thing is wrong.]

[The afterlife and the underworld are not the same. They are strictly different.]

[All humans in this world cannot be free from the gods even after death...]

Artificial salvation provided by the heavenly realm.

Cannot be free from the gods.

I recalled those words in my mind and said to Mangryang.

"You... the Zhuge family. And probably Zhuge Yuryong. Your clan had already inferred that truth long ago."

[Yes. Zhuge Yuryong likely learned of the world's underbelly on his own, my uncle through contact with demonic paths, and I overheard while studying under my master.]

"But throughout all my past lives, none of you ever explained it to me. Why tell me only now?"

[Because inference without confirmation is just hypothesis. Especially about the underworld, approaching with rash prejudice or wrong information is dangerous even for you, with repercussions to fear. Considering you're a reincarnator, we avoided unfounded speculation. If we were wrong, your reincarnations could end.]

"Ugh."

It made sense.

As I nodded, Mangryang continued.

[And now, having come to the underworld myself and confirmed the facts. This world's afterlife is truly a living hell where the reincarnation system has vanished, and the underworld lost its function ages ago.]

"...But if it's a living hell like that, then what about the new humans being born in this world now?"

I was baffled, unable to comprehend.

"Even now, humans are being born somewhere in the Central Plains. If it's true that human souls are being devoured by the [Ancient Ruler]'s belly, the quantity of souls should steadily decrease, right?"

[That's precisely because of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.]

"Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors?"

[The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors have formed a truce with the [Ancient Rulers] while bestowing powerful blessings upon the eastern world. The immense blessing created by the eight rulers achieves [Soul Recreation]. At the same time, they resupply spiritual essence equivalent to the vanished souls across the entire planet.]

"...The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are creating new souls to replace those that die, is that what you're saying?"

[Yes. And the po soul is always naturally recreated, and when it attaches to a newly created hun soul, a new soul takes root in a human womb.]

"......"

I gaped blankly, then said in a trembling voice.

"Th-That means... as the price for stopping the war... the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors have been supplying humans as food to the [Ancient Rulers] for thousands of years?"

[...Yes. That is the truth of the world.]

Mangryang closed his eyes.

[The higher immortals vaguely suspected it but had to turn a blind eye, focusing only on maintaining the central world... a despairing reality.]

"Uwaaaaaah!!"

I tore at my hair, screaming.

So despairing!

'No wonder, that's why the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors treat humans like insects!!'

It wasn't just a difference in power.

The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and [Ancient Rulers] had actually been farming humans like livestock!

For thousands of years!

Then what were all the morals, values, good and evil of every human society that ever existed?

If after death you're just one meal for an evil god no matter what, why live virtuously?

This world tilting toward evil wasn't hyperbole—it was the stark, dry reality!

How insignificant and repulsive must humans appear in the eyes of such Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors?

Weak, pathetic creatures tossing feed into the [Ancient Rulers]' mouths like scattering birdseed—what did they think seeing them worship?

Probably just a casual snack, handfuls devoured in human sacrifices when bored.

At the same time, chills ran through me at the overwhelming power of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, freely manipulating human life and death, afterlife, and cosmic causality. Such beings have no need for human faith. To existences that are masters of distant science and magic, kings of the divine throne in themselves, humans are mere toys.

I even thought it made sense for the heavenly realm to hide this reality and spread lies about judgment in the underworld after death. If known, all humans would succumb to madness, worshiping evil gods with utterly wicked egos. For civilization to persist, it was a truth that had to be ignored—a despairing one.

Mangryang said bitterly.

[Harsh as it is to say, Cheokcheon Muhu's choice wasn't so bad. At least she used the Eight Divisions Divine Generals' power to save the souls of humans born in her era from becoming a single meal...]

"Damn it... But..."

I wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come out.

At that moment, Seomun Hye, who had been listening beside me, spoke.

"From now on, Lord Baek Woong will save us. We've learned that truth. What's the final third reason?"

[The final third reason was to obtain the Netherworld Mirror.]

"Netherworld Mirror...?"

Swoosh.

A mirror the height of a person was summoned beside Mangryang. Like the one Seomun Hye had thrown into the lake earlier, it was pitch black and reflected no light. Mangryang stroked the mirror with his hand and said.

[The Netherworld Mirror is the final relic left by Chakravartin, the lord who ruled the Ten Kings of Hell. Yama is commonly known as the chief of the Ten Kings of Hell, but that's distorted information—Chakravartin originally ruled the underworld. He was a divine existence, but his exact identity remains unknown to the world.]

"Chakravartin..."

[I... have been thinking a lot lately.]

Mangryang continued slowly.

[I felt a sense of self-loathing, wondering if there was nothing more I could offer allies in martial arts or spells. At the same time, I constantly pondered what I could do. Then I realized my role was to oversee the big picture and guide your path, so I sought advice from my master.]

"From Elder Mangryang!"

[And my master told me to go to the underworld and obtain the Netherworld Mirror, Chakravartin's final treasure. A mirror of truth from a very ancient era... when humans still retained their power and the underworld functioned properly.]

"What is that mirror exactly?"

Mangryang said.

[I will show you its power.]

Fwaaaah!!

The next moment, light rose from the silver-dyed lake, and suddenly memories transmitted to me. Information I hadn't grasped from Seomun Hye's viewpoint alone, the vivid emotions comrades felt during the decisive battle, even deep subconscious layers—all transmitted!

In an instant, I gained information as if viewing the post-god-era battle from an omniscient perspective. Having filled much of the five-year gap, I was quite shocked.

"Th-This is?"

[The Netherworld Mirror can speak to any being in this world, peer into their innermost thoughts, and see anywhere. The Ten Kings of Hell borrowed this Netherworld Mirror from Chakravartin to judge sinners. Having become its master, I can absorb and retransmit information using it.]

".......!!"

Could this be the 'Karma Mirror' from underworld myths that reveals sins?

If so, Mangryang had truly become the owner of a mythical treasure!

And the moment I received the memories, I grasped Mangryang's current situation and said.

"Mangryang. I'll go rescue you right away."

Mangryang was not in a sound state now.

He had somehow infiltrated the underworld, barricaded himself in the deepest chamber by closing the door of the Netherworld Mirror room, and was holding out. Enemies swarmed outside, and he was enduring desperately, not knowing when they'd break the door. The moment the door shattered, Mangryang would be gruesomely killed by hell's jaws and yakshas.

But Mangryang smiled faintly and said.

[No need. Thanks to you returning not too late, I have at least one or two years' leeway. Until then, I'll support you from the rear using the Netherworld Mirror. I'll store your memories in your stead and provide power when needed.]

"......"

[From the transmitted memories, you know my uncle has temporarily taken refuge in the underworld. He's in a comatose state from damage to its spirit body now, but he hasn't died. As soon as he wakes, he'll speak to you.]

Indeed.

The Zhuge family head was also in this Netherworld Mirror chamber. However, having expended much power, he fell into coma upon arrival and was barely clinging to life. Even so, the head judged it safer to come to the Netherworld Mirror chamber than remain in the mortal world.

"I'll definitely come rescue you."

Safe for now, but I had to rescue the two strategists as quickly as possible, no matter when. Otherwise, the door would eventually break, killing them both, and the Zhuge family head's soul would become the demon king's possession, subjecting him to living hell for certain.

Mangryang said.

[Considering your current situation first, Baek Woong, the most urgent matter is crystal clear.]

"What is it?"

From Mangryang's following words, I intuited an even more arduous journey ahead.

[Go to the moon. Heavenly Rain Priest will be there, and with the priest's power, you can resolve Shin Gongpyo's task.]