Chapter 124

Hey there. Looks like I’m making an entrance that’s drawing some stares. And among those stares… something not quite human is standing there. It resembles a beast but wears human clothes.

Well, turns out the reason there wasn’t any prejudice-filled gazes was because, well, at least where immortals and sages are concerned, such bias doesn’t exist. Though I figured I’d have to head somewhere with actual immortals to see this kind of thing… never expected it to be right here.

Humans don’t tend to remember things they don’t care about too sharply. So when I dig into my memories, these kinds of details don’t pop up clearly.

If I were some race-discriminating bigot who disliked a certain group, I’d probably remember them vividly along with the discomfort. But among dead immortals and sages, no one’s like that.

By faded memory standards, everyone here seems pretty decent.

Though, monsters would beg to differ, obviously.

Following the sage led me to some sort of elevator contraption. The elevator just floated upwards into the sky.

It was just a box floating without any rope or mechanism—no cables or mechanical devices in sight. At the Cheonma Church Main Hall, there were steel wires and mechanisms visible, but here? Pretty special stuff.

Instead of moving in a straight line, it gracefully curved upwards towards an island floating in the sky. Then it stopped halfway up the island and approached a rock.

Seemed like it was going to crash into the rock, but it passed right through.

The rock looked solid as ever, but as we passed through, I could see the veil of illusion ripple—it was just a mirage.

While inwardly marveling at what was essentially a hologram, the box eventually docked at some sort of landing spot. The door opened, and I stepped out.

Looking around, there was this massive octagonal pathway made of wood and stone, floating in mid-air and twisting all over.

The pathway stretched longer than the mountain I saw earlier. Following this path leads deeper inside to Kunlun, where the immortals live.

“The road ends here for me. Beyond this point is where the immortals reside, so I cannot enter. I shall take my leave.”

With proper etiquette, I bowed back at the sage who had just greeted me. He then hopped onto the box we came in on and descended back down.

Now I’m alone.

Since I know the way, I could just go ahead, right? Not really, there’s only one way anyway. Straight ahead, and you’ll reach the world where immortals dwell.

But nobody told me to go, so I won’t.

Someone will come to greet me if I wait, right?

I mean, I’m alone now. If I barge in unknowingly, someone might shout “You’re toast!” and suddenly attack me.

Security systems at entrances are usually strong, after all.

Or, in other words, I’m scared. What if whatever’s here is beyond my ability to handle?

Not my time to die yet.

At least not until I meet the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign.

After waiting for a while, a tall man appeared. Even taller than me, who’s above average height for this era.

“I’ve come to fetch you since you didn’t proceed further. My name is Buhyeon Jinin. Is there something you need?”

His tone implies walking should be normal, but it’s not always that simple, especially when you don’t know what lies ahead.

Rather than complaining, I just stuck to stating facts as usual.

“Hello, my name is Choseol. I was just standing still, thinking maybe I got the timing wrong.”

People higher up often use tardiness to assert their authority by making others wait for them to show up, like in meetings.

But judging from his expression, this guy isn’t trying to establish dominance by being late.

“Just walk in, you know. Is this your first time at Kunlun Mountain?”

“Yes, it is.”

Then Buhyeon Jinin started cheerfully explaining various things about Kunlun Mountain. Thought I’d get some big muscular dude ready for a fight, but instead, got this nice guy.

In the dim memories, a man flickered, like “something’s off here.”

Clearly, there’s some timeline weirdness going on. Fiction and reality are different, so why does this feel so strange?

Following Buhyeon Jinin, I entered deeper into Kunlun Mountain. After walking along the passage for a while, forests and floating rocks came into view.

It looks like we went through the same floating island we entered earlier, but actually, that island served as a gateway.

The sky here has an odd hue, and strange creatures move between the islands.

Buhyeon Jinin seemed happy to have a guest and enthusiastically explained the charm of Kunlun Mountain. Eventually, he guided me somewhere—thought it might be a room, but turned out to be a pavilion with a great view.

He had me sit down, stood opposite me, and spoke.

“This is Kunlun Mountain. Excuse me, but I heard you’re here to see the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign. May I inquire about the purpose of your visit?”

Purpose.

Oh yeah, there was that.

“First, to inform you that I fought against Tongcheon.”

At that, he showed a look of sympathy.

“You fought a fearsome person. Did you come seeking help from Kunlun Mountain? While we may judge the matter, if you came seeking aid, rest assured, you won’t be sent away empty-handed.”

A faint trace of fear lingered on his face.

Checking Daegon’s memories, this person doesn’t appear. Could he have fought one of Daegon’s subordinates? The deep sense of fear suggests he likely fought during the invasion of the Celestial Sect.

“I didn’t come for that. I want to meet the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign regarding that incident.”

At that, his expression darkened—not in the “how dare you summon him” way, though.

“The Primordial Heavenly Sovereign rarely meets people, so even if summoned, it’s hard to see him. However, I do act as his proxy. If it’s something within my power, feel free to speak to me. If not, I’ll arrange a meeting with the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign.”

Seems the vertical hierarchy isn’t as rigid as expected.

If the building represents class society, here it feels more like steps. I thought Daoism would be like some marine corps with extreme class rigidity, but guess I was mistaken.

From the immortals’ memories, most people followed orders without complaint, assuming there’d be punishment if they didn’t. Turns out they weren’t born into such an oppressive culture.

Rather, it’s closer to a culture of responsible individuals who take initiative when needed.

So, with such gentle people around, strange commands wouldn’t even arise in the first place, and they’d carry out what’s right without hesitation.

Human society paradise edition, according to faded memories.

Of course, being gentle doesn’t mean blindly following orders. These folks would readily pull down and try anyone corrupt or doing evil deeds.

In short, it’s a society where everyone shares responsibility equally.

“First, I’ll criticize you.”

“Huh?”

“Cheonma Church, or the Devil Sect, or Tongcheon’s breeding ground. Someone I considered family died there.”

Immediately, Buhyeon Jinin’s expression hardened. He realized where I came from.

“So you’ve come here to criticize us. We don’t apologize for that eradication. Certainly, living there might seem wicked, but leaving them unchecked could’ve caused dangerous situations. And you also possess that ominous purple aura.”

“Destroying the Cheonma Church was the right decision.”

So I told him it was the right choice. Buhyeon Jinin looked extremely surprised.

“The Cheonma Church taught children to kill from a young age, damaging their personalities, inserted insects into their bodies to enforce unconditional obedience to those below them, and was also a place where Tongcheon bred hosts for his own kind.”

Surprisingly, this is true. Gwon-gyu suspected this but ignored it, and Cheonma was unaware.

Historically speaking, while the Cheonma Church grew strong thanks to Daegon’s power, apart from Woljedang, there was no influence from the Celestial Sect.

To give an example from faded memories, imagine a café set up to cover up illegal drug sales. It’s not for profit, so they sell cheaply, drawing lots of customers.

The employees working there don’t realize they’re part of a cover-up for illegal activities.

That’s how the relationship between the Cheonma Church and the Celestial Sect worked. Woljedang acted as the café manager, but to easily cut ties if anything happened with the Cheonma Church, they remained a small organization overseeing rituals and insect management.

An organization that restricts human actions and controls human bodies.

That was the tangled mess that was the Cheonma Church.

“Such a group is indeed a menace that needs immediate removal from human society. You did the right thing.”

Buhyeon Jinin gave me a somewhat awkward look.

“But, did you come here to criticize us?”

“That’s separate from criticizing the killing of someone close to me.”

After pondering my words for a while, he nodded.

“Yes, that’s correct. No matter how evil a person may be, they can have families and friends, and it’s natural to feel emotional when they die, regardless of guilt.”

So he doesn’t say sorry. That’s appropriate.

He didn’t do anything wrong, so he doesn’t apologize.

For instance, a big dog suddenly attacks a child. To save the child, the dog gets killed. But the dog belonged to someone who cherished it dearly. The dog owner can criticize the person who killed the dog, but that person doesn’t need to apologize.

Because they did the right thing.

Criticism is free, and so is the response.

Anyway.

I’ve accomplished what I wanted to do casually.

“And second, about Tongcheon.”

Before getting to the main topic, preparation for what I truly want to do.

“Tongcheon was killed by me.”

At my words, Buhyeon Jinin jumped up. Right?

Once, the Celestial Sect and the Terrestrial Sect fought almost to extinction. The Celestial Sect barely won, and the Terrestrial Sect lost but not by much.

Now I’m saying the opposite side is dead.

Hard to tell if it’s truth or lie.

But at least, this shows where I stand, and Buhyeon Jinin understands that.

“Shouldn’t this be enough to qualify me to meet the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign? What do you think?”

Knowing full well how this sounds to him, I asked.

Blackmail. Yep.

This powerful person wants the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign brought before them.

Go fetch the bigwig.

At my words, Buhyeon Jinin stood there, eyes darting around frantically, then nodded.

“I’ll arrange for the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign to be summoned.”

“Thank you.”

That was the conversation I had so far.

I criticized without using violence, waited patiently, endured.

How do I appear to these good people?

Probably as someone reasonable to talk to.

Even if I escape openly, it’s better to step forward for dialogue. Sorry for unknowingly putting you, Buhyeon Jinin, in the position of delivering the most important person to a monster’s prey.

But I came here to eat monsters.

Hehe.

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