Dududududu!
The world starts to change.
The sky turns blood red.
The shadows across the entire Middle Realm begin to ripple as if alive.
Ooooooo—
Negative forces temporarily project personalities, and Heart Heavenly Demons begin to appear en masse.
Of course, they all flee from my vicinity, but for the ordinary living beings of the Bright Cold Realm, it will be fatal.
I look up with cold sweat dropping.
I can feel it.
[Light] has been severed.
It feels like the Ancient Force Realm. No celestial energy can be read from the sky.
At the same time, I feel the Flower Soul Filling the Heavens squirming wildly inside my body.
'This is...'
I can tell.
There is no longer celestial energy flowing in the sky.
Instead, what flows is the formula of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens Formula!
[...I see now.]
I recall Yuk Rin.
The secret art used to establish an attraction force with Blood Yin on Cherry Blossom Dragon Island.
That secret art, without a doubt, was a method for forming an attraction with Purple Soul Filling the Heavens.
'So, the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens found in the Purple Soul Jade Seal must have originally belonged to Blood Yin.'
Purple Soul Filling the Heavens is completed through inheritance.
And the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens that resided within the Purple Soul Jade Seal was inherited 'from the Blood Yin.'
I sigh in relief knowing that the formula of Flower Soul Filling the Heavens does not assimilate with Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, even though it reacts to it in the sky.
From the moment it became Flower Soul Filling the Heavens, this secret art must have fully escaped Blood Yin's influence.
'Thank you, Ryeo Hwa.'
Thanks to Ryeo Hwa, my soul is safe.
But now is not the time for relief.
'The world is changing...'
Kugugugugu!
Thick blood devilish energy.
Woo-wooong!
Yuan Yu, buried in a corner of my domain, suddenly starts to react wildly.
I had long deemed it nearly useless, so I kept only a shard of Yuan Yu for safekeeping.
That Yuan Yu reacts to the power of the Blood Yin Realm.
When I release Yuan Yu outside, it starts absorbing the blood devilish energy like crazy, starting to regenerate itself.
Gurgle, gurgle!
In an instant, the regenerated Yuan Yu's cultivation begins to rise.
Surpassing the Nascent Soul stage, it skyrockets past the Grand Perfection Heavenly Being stage, reaching the Quasi-Four-Axis stage!
Saaaaa—
Simultaneously, a sinister glint appears in the Yuan Yu's eyes.
[...What are you?]
I realize something has taken over Yuan Yu's body and ask.
And Yuan Yu smirks with an eerie smile and opens its mouth.
"Have you been well, Dao..."
Clench!
It's Seo Hweol.
Without needing to ask, I pull out the Colorless Glass Sword and thrust it into his mouth.
Twitch, twitch...
But Seo Hweol, through Yuan Yu's body, forms another mouth near the back of the throat and continues to speak.
"You're quite violent, Daoist...hoho..."
"Why have you come?"
I press the Sub-Heart Sword against its soul, asking threateningly.
He smiles faintly.
I growl as I look at him.
"You...where is this place now...!?"
"There's no need to worry, Daoist. Here, we don't need to have such a bothersome conversation. First, please take a look at the [one holding the scale]."
At those words, I unconsciously turn my gaze toward the top of the scale.
It's not because I followed Seo Hweol's suggestion, but because I unconsciously thought, 'Of course, that's what I should do.'
"...!"
And what I see is a giant (巨人).
No, this isn't a being that can be called a mere giant.
A Giant God (巨神)!
This is a colossal God (神) formed from the vapor of chaos.
Its size is so immense that all I can comprehend is that it's 'huge', without any clear sense of how large it truly is.
Seo Hweol smiles from the opposite weight of the scale and speaks.
"Please show your respect, Daoist Seo. This is the Immortal Beast of the Human Race, the [God of Names]. The Master of all Contracts and Oaths...the Immortal Beast, Hyeon Go (玄古)...the High Spirit Grand Dao Nine Heavens Overseeing Fate Preserving Life Celestial Great Emperor (上靈高道九天司命保生天上大帝)."
[TL/N: So, this title is taken from Zhao Xuanlang, a Daoist God from the Song Dynasty. Emperor Zhenzhong of Song basically honored the Yellow Emperor as the ancestor of the Zhao Family and gave them the title High Spirit Grand Dao Nine Heavens Overseeing Fate Preserving Life Heavenly Venerable Great Emperor (上靈高道九天司命保生天尊大帝). Tremendous just swapped Heavenly Venerable (天尊) to Celestial (天上).]
From the opposite weight, Seo Hweol bows towards [Hyeon Go], and I, startled, hurriedly offer my respect as well.
However, [Hyeon Go] doesn't react in any particular way.
It seems that what stands before us is not the main body but some kind of principle or law.
As I look up at the giant god of vapor I notice something odd.
'This is clearly an existence above the rank of a True Immortal...but why does nothing happen even while seeing it?'
Just as I am pondering this, Seo Hweol smiles and provides the answer.
"How does it feel to stand before the Ancestor God (祖神), seed of the Human Race's Immortal Beast?"
The Immortal Beast of the Human Race, Hyeon Go.
Which means, in some sense, this colossal god and I are of the same race.
"...So, is this the method you spoke of?"
"You could say so. How fortunate it is that Daoist possesses the true blood of Go (Ancient/古). When the power of Go and the Black Ancient Paper meets, the subjects are brought to the sanctuary of contracts and oaths that Hyeon Go governs. Here, there's no need to worry about the gaze of Blood Yin."
Kugugugugu!
I nod, feeling the overwhelming presence of Hyeon Go.
Indeed, the divine and sacred aura gently emanating from this giant god is no trivial matter.
Even an existence like Blood Yin would be unable to easily spy on us. I can sense this certainty on a genetic level.
I ask Seo Hweol a question.
"If we make a contract here, can I trust you?"
"Yes. As long as I'm a mortal being, any contract made here is something I can [never] break. No, even if I were to attain the realm of True Immortals and become an immortal being, unless I transcend Hyeon Go's rank, it's impossible to violate it. As Fate supports the contract, even if one wishes to break it, the heavenly fortune will adjust to ensure that it [cannot be broken]."
I nod in agreement.
'If it's to this extent...even a snake-scorpion bastard should be able to be trusted"
But after nodding, my expression hardens.
"...Tell me. What's the reason that someone like you, who doesn't do trust, is going this far to form a contract with me? What's the reason behind Blood Yin's objectives? How serious is it that you're willing to go this far just to cooperate with me?"
Seo Hweol's smile fades.
It doesn't disappear entirely, but knowing that his smile only fades when he's touching on something deeply connected to his essence, I realize how gravely serious this matter is.
"I mentioned before, didn't I? While avoiding Blood Yin's gaze, I told you about the five great beings who fought [something], and how all five died afterwards."
"You did."
"The five great being did indeed perish. But the second strongest among them, Yu Hao Te, managed to leave behind a 'leftover'."
It seems that here, there's no problem casually mentioning the names of True Immortals.
The truth about Blood Yin begins to spill from Seo Hweol's lips.
"Seat Holder of Good and Evil, Judge of Morality Yu Hao Te. His leftover only managed to cling to one part of his vast authority, the Seat of Evil (Vice), and was reborn anew."
The vague suspicions I've had are confirmed by Seo Hweol's words. Since I already suspected as much, I'm not particularly surprised.
But what Seo Hweol says next leaves me in utter shock.
"But...if the second strongest left behind a leftover, do you know what the strongest, Vast Cold Heavenly Lord, left behind?"
"What did they leave?"
"Their life."
"...?"
"The Vast Cold Heavenly Lord, who was known as the strongest god (神) 500,000 years ago, after fighting [something]...is [still alive]."
Flinch!
I stare at Seo Hweol with confused eyes, and he continues.
"Vast Cold Heavenly Lord's soul disappeared somewhere, leaving them in a state akin to brain death. Their body, however, even in a vegetative state, remains [alive]. Even now."