Enshrinement as a God

"I'm here!"

Agong, who had rushed to the lake with the pipas in both hands, looked around when he didn't see Daji, who should have been waiting for him quietly.

"Did she go back?"

It was unlikely that Daji, who usually bothered him unwantedly and was obsessed with him, would have gone back without a word.

"Ah!"

As he looked around a little more, he soon found someone collapsed not far away.

"No!"

The surprised Agong hurriedly went and saw that the person who had fainted and collapsed was Daji.

Agong put the pipas aside and, for now, lightly lifted Daji's head.

Although there were no visible wounds, Daji was not easily regaining consciousness.

"What on earth is this?"

Agong, who had examined Daji for a moment, soon noticed that Daji had been struck at her pressure points.

At that moment, he felt a huge presence above his head.

"Kuk!"

Agong hurriedly picked up the fainted Daji and rolled his body to avoid the 'something' that had fallen from the tree.

In front of Agong's eyes, something huge was moving its body nimbly.

White, smooth fur, sharp claws and teeth.

An animal with the power to tear apart a mountain while moving as nimbly as a cat.

"White... tiger..."

Agong, seeing the huge white tiger that had appeared in front of him, froze like a stone.

The white tiger's eyes, as big as teacups, flashed, and it raised its round head.

A black spot the size of a fist was prominent on the top of the white tiger's head, and its hot breath became steam and rose into the sky like a haze from between its nose and mouth.

The white tiger, despite its large size, circled around Agong and Daji with unbelievably light steps.

"A white tiger..."

Agong, who had witnessed the legendary divine beast in front of him, was surprised for a moment, and then carefully put Daji down behind him and then grabbed Tonglin.

In the end, it was just a tiger with white fur.

He had already lived, hunting countless unbelievable strange beasts in the Hermit's Valley, so there was no reason to be afraid just because it was a white tiger.

"The fur of a white tiger would be worth a lot of money."

"Grrrrr..."

As if it understood Agong's words, the white tiger let out a long, low, and grating cry.

Agong, feeling the hair on his whole body stand on end, sprang his body like an arrow and rushed at the white tiger.

Taat!

If he were to be harmed here, the fainted Daji would also surely become the food of that white tiger.

Agong tried to subdue the white tiger in one go with Tonglin, but as expected of a divine beast, the huge white tiger lightly avoided Agong's Tonglin with an unbelievable movement.

He felt a hot and unpleasant air, as if the white tiger's hot breath were left behind.

"It's not that easy, is it?"

Agong immediately extended the fishing line of Tonglin with the technique of the Heavenly Demon Hand and hooked it on the white tiger's back.

Feeling the heavy weight of the white tiger, Agong raised the internal energy of the Nine Gates True Scripture in one go.

"It's tiger fishing in the mountains!"

No matter how thick its hide was, since the fishing line made of heavenly silkworm silk was combined with the internal energy of the Nine Gates Harmonious Art, one of the best divine arts in the world, it had no strength to withstand it.

"Kuaaang!"

The white tiger, as its back hide was caught on the fishing line and was being pulled, let out a cry full of pain.

"Stop!"

Thump!

But before Agong could savor the joy of victory, someone came down from the tree in one go and cut Agong's fishing line in one go with a whip.

As the tightly pulled fishing line was cut, Agong could not overcome the repulsion and fell on his butt, and the white tiger, which had been overturned, stood up and growled at Agong.

"That's enough. Black Spot Tiger. Step back for a moment."

The man who had cut Agong's fishing line was a young man with a youthful face who looked to be not yet of age.

He was wearing a white martial arts uniform and had a neat appearance, and from the short whip in his hand, lightning was sparking.

"Kuaaang!"

At the somehow wronged-looking cry of the white tiger, the young man pulled out the fishing line that was stuck in the white tiger's back in one go.

"So you are the rumored kid from the Mountain Sea Tavern."

"Who are you?"

Agong, who was looking at the cut fishing line in a daze, got very angry and raised his voice at the man.

If he had been a little calmer, he would have noticed that something was strange about the situation long ago.

The fainted Daji had no signs of being attacked and had only been subdued at her pressure points, and in the first place, it didn't make sense for a white tiger to suddenly come down from a tree as if it were a surprise attack.

In the end, the culprit of everything was clearly the man in front of him.

"My name is Shen Gongbao. To be precise... I would also be your senior brother."

"Senior brother?"

"Yes. My masters are the Three True Ones of the Mountain Peak Sect, so to you, who are the direct disciple of one of them, the Taoist Lingbao, I am a senior brother."

Agong had never once heard about a senior brother from the Taoist Lingbao.

But apart from whether it was true or not, he had to know the reason for doing such a thing.

"If you are my senior brother, why did you attack me and Daji?"

"Daji...? You say the name of that monster is Daji?"

Agong shut his mouth without realizing it.

Come to think of it, Daji had said that no one in the Hermit's Valley, other than her father and his subordinates, should know about her.

"Hmm... I didn't attack first. This child attacked me when I came to meet you. I just put her to sleep for a while, so she will wake up soon."

Unlike Agong's concern, Shen Gongbao did not seem to be very interested in Daji.

"If you wanted to meet me, you could have come to the tavern."

"There was someone a little awkward to talk to in the tavern... but we met like this, didn't we?"

"For what reason did you come to see me?"

"Wait, before that."

As Shen Gongbao lightly clapped his hands and then spread them, a strong energy soon arose from the center of his body and began to spread around.

The energy, like a transparent membrane, separated Shen Gongbao, the Black Spot Tiger, and Agong from the outside.

Agong, as if it were strange, turned his head and looked around.

"They say birds hear the words of the day and rats hear the words of the night, so there's no harm in being careful. The story we have here will not leak outside."

"So what is the reason you came to see me?"

"It's a very simple story. Have you heard the words 'God-Sealing Platform' from your masters?"

"It's the first time I've heard it."

Shen Gongbao's reaction was as if he had expected Agong's answer.

"Then do you know exactly what kind of place this Hermit's Valley is?"

"No."

"What a junior brother who has no curiosity at all."

"I'm busy living. And it's not certain that I'm your junior brother, so please don't call me that."

At Agong's attitude, which was full of vigilance, Shen Gongbao smiled.

"The Kunlun Mountains are the backbone of the Central Plains, and this Hermit's Valley is a wound on the backbone. In other words, it's a wound on the world."

"A wound..."

Although the words 'a wound on the world' were a little absurd, come to think of it, Agong had never once had an interest in the Hermit's Valley.

"It's also a place where all things in the universe deviate from the laws of nature because of the too strong energy. Do you know what happens in a place like this?"

Deer that eat meat... snakes or fish with horns and limbs...

Agong recalled the strange and bizarre animals he had met so far.

"Strange and bizarre beasts run wild."

Shen Gongbao's story had a power that drew people in.

Agong, who had shown a listless attitude at first, found himself gradually listening to Shen Gongbao's words as if he were possessed.

"That's the superficial part. The deeper you go, the more uncontrollable the power of the Hermit's Valley becomes, and in the end, it is said that a gap that has torn the heavens and the earth is open."

Shen Gongbao said, looking at Daji, who was still unconscious outside the barrier he had set up.

"And from such a gap, heterogeneous things are bound to come out. That is the Non-Duality Gate you met... what the world commonly calls demons."

"Demons?"

Agong doubted his own ears.

Although he might have felt that way if he had seen a person from the western regions for the first time, now that he was quite used to their faces, he could not agree with Shen Gongbao's words at all.

How could Sorin or Miss Mu be demons?

And he had never once thought that Daji was also a demon.

"Well, whether you call them fairies or goblins... it's up to you, but one truth is that they are not of this world."

Shen Gongbao naturally leaned his back against the Black Spot Tiger's belly.

"And those who are drawn by the mysterious power of the Hermit's Valley eventually have to make a choice according to their birth."

"A choice?"

"Our Mountain Peak Sect is the last bastion to block the demons who are trying to go out into the Central Plains. Well, there are also those in the Sea Isle Sect who share our will, and there are also those who don't... In any case, the three sects are in a state of balance, wary of each other in the Hermit's Valley."

"Then... what about the people in our tavern?"

"A manager, perhaps? Well, only the Old Lord in the Mountain Peak Sect knows the identity of Old Ancestor Hongjun... In any case, the Hermit's Valley, which had been maintained like that for over a hundred years, is now changing somehow."

"Are you talking about that God-Sealing Platform or whatever from before?"

Shen Gongbao, as Agong spoke with a quick wit, showed a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Yes. Only a very few in the Mountain Peak or the Sea Isle Sect know about this plan. The Non-Duality Gate is completely excluded."

"And you are one of them."

"Yes. I don't know what on earth Old Ancestor Hongjun is doing, but it seems he has found a way to seal the wound of the Hermit's Valley. That is what I called the God-Sealing Platform."

In fact, Agong had seen the God-Sealing Platform as a drawing in Master Gongsun's room before.

Of course, at that time, he had no idea what it was or what its purpose was, but if it was as Shen Gongbao said now, it was clear that it was the blueprint of the God-Sealing Platform.

"If you seal the wound of the world, isn't that a good thing?"

"Hahaha! You don't understand. That's not right."

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you think the strong people who are too much for the martial world to handle gather here? It is to draw them in as a way to block the wound of the heavens and the earth. But if the wound heals and they are released? If you think of the martial world, that's absolutely not right."

"But..."

"Moreover, the God-Sealing Platform has the purpose of binding the souls of masters who are close to the supreme state and sealing them as gods to heal the gap. How much does this look down on humans?"

Although Agong could not properly understand Shen Gongbao's explanation, he could feel that he was very indignant.

"But why are you telling me this? Isn't it a great secret, to the extent that you would block anyone from eavesdropping?"

"A good question."

As Shen Gongbao clapped his hands again, the energy that had been filling the surroundings disappeared in an instant.

As Agong felt the fresh air, he realized that Shen Gongbao's barrier, which had been surrounding them like a membrane, had disappeared.

"I am sure that you will play a significant role in using this God-Sealing Platform."

"I think you've got it wrong. Would they entrust such an important task to a tavern waiter?"

"My prophecy has never once been wrong. When the time comes, you must never follow Old Ancestor Hongjun's intentions."

"In the first place, it's unlikely that such a time will come, but why should I do that?"

"Isn't it not fun? To close the door to another world that is wide open, what a waste."

Rather than what he was saying about humans or the martial world, the words he was saying now seemed much closer to the reason he was doing this.

Agong, as if he didn't want to hear any more, picked up his Tonglin and picked up his heavenly silkworm silk, which had been cut in half.

"Someday, you will pay the price for breaking my fishing rod."

"Don't act rashly. There are not many opponents who can face me even here."

Shen Gongbao, who had smirked, gestured for Agong to give him Tonglin and the heavenly silkworm silk.

Although Agong looked at him with a suspicious gaze, after a moment of silence, he reluctantly handed it over to Shen Gongbao.

Shen Gongbao took out the short whip from his waist.

"In the first place, if your skills were a little better, the fishing line made of heavenly silkworm silk would not have been cut by me, would it?"

"Are you saying that as a joke?"

"This is what I received from the Old Lord, called the Thunder God Whip. The only ones who can handle this in the world are me and the Old Lord."

"In the first place, I don't even know who the Old Lord is..."

Flash!

In an instant, Agong, startled by the light that covered his eyes, closed his two eyes without realizing it.

Soon, as Agong blinked his blurred two eyes and opened them, the cut fishing line had returned to its original state in an instant.

Shen Gongbao, holding the blue-glowing and trembling Tonglin tightly, let out an exclamation of admiration.

"What a great artifact. Cherish it."

"I will, even if you don't say so."

Agong received Tonglin as if snatching it.

Although he felt a tingling sensation flowing through his hand, he tried hard not to show it.

"Keep it a secret from others that you met me today. Even from your masters."

"I'll think about it."

"Then it was nice to meet you, Junior Brother Jiang."

"My name is Agong."

Shen Gongbao tapped his head with his finger.

"Didn't I say I had a prophecy?"

As Shen Gongbao got on the Black Spot Tiger's back, the Black Spot Tiger climbed up the tree like a monkey and jumped up into the sky.

Shen Gongbao, leaving behind the invisible Agong in an instant, stroked the back hide of the Black Spot Tiger that Agong had pierced.

It was a beneficial meeting for him, and also a strange experience.

"It's the first time I've heard that there's a young girl in the Non-Duality Gate..."

Shen Gongbao, erasing the strangely ominous feeling, soon disappeared from the air.

(End of Chapter)