Enshrinement as a God

"From my father?"

It was still a little early in the morning, and a bewildered voice was heard from Daji's chamber in the Black Contemplation Fortress.

"Yes, sister. It seems he has been in contact with the young master of the Black Contemplation Fortress separately."

However, the two sisters who had appeared in Daji's chamber did not seem to notice Daji's mood.

Although all three sisters were peerless beauties, their appearances and personalities were all different.

If the second daughter, Su Xiang, was as demure and pure as an orchid, the youngest, Su Tang, was like a green pine tree, and always felt the liveliness of a fresh girl.

Although it was a happy thing for Daji that her sisters, Xiang and Tang, who had grown up together since they were young, had come to visit, the news that Su Hu had arrived at the Black Contemplation Fortress with them was not so welcome.

Moreover, the fact that neither of them had told her this story, even though they had been exchanging news with Jeshin.

Although Su Hu's visit was natural before the great event that would soon be held, this was not a desirable situation for Daji.

"How is our father?"

"He's a little upset because he lost the item he was expecting."

"An item... in the Black Contemplation Fortress?"

"Yes, actually..."

The youngest, Su Tang, rambled on to Daji about the boy that Su Hu had met in the Black Contemplation Fortress.

It was a story that he had subdued the souls of the mysterious old man and the boy and had ordered Zhang Gui to secretly transport them to the So family manor, but Zhang Gui had failed and had incurred Su Hu's wrath.

"Father was angry..."

Although she could not know who those two were, if Su Hu was so angry, they must be of considerable value.

Unfortunately, Su Tang's story ended here, and Daji could not get any more information.

"But Xiang, you don't look well."

Daji, who had turned her gaze with a regretful heart, saw Xiang. Although she was a quiet child, her expression did not look good.

"No. It's just that the environment has changed a little..."

At Daji's question, Xiang lowered her head and trailed off her words.

Although she looked anxious for some reason, Daji, recalling Su Xiang's personality, passed it over without much thought.

"Yes, then what is the reason why our father sent you to me?"

"He ordered us to assist you from now on."

The two sisters, who worked well together, would be with her.

For Daji, it was no different from gaining a thousand troops and ten thousand horses.

"Did he have any other words?"

"Yes. Other than the words to make sure there are no setbacks in the preparations..."

Daji, hearing Su Tang's answer, lightly bit her lower lip.

The most important mission that Su Hu had ordered her was to eliminate Wen Zhong.

But Daji had not yet accomplished this. It was unlikely that Su Hu had forgotten it, but the fact that he had not reprimanded her separately was a strange thing.

"I understand. I will tell the maids about your chambers, so you can rest there."

"Yes, sister."

"Yes."

Daji, after sending the two sisters away, was lost in thought for a moment.

"I will go to the inner court."

Daji, who had finished her thoughts, immediately got ready and moved her feet to the inner court with her maids.

The place she was heading to was the deepest part of the inner court, the secret chamber where Wen Zhong was being treated.

The place, which was in the deepest part of the heavily guarded inner court, was guarded by a triple guard, and the maids who were following Daji were also blocked at the first place and had to wait for her.

The security here was so thorough that even the doctor could only treat Wen Zhong under Shiyue's supervision.

The only ones who could visit Wen Zhong's secret chamber alone were Jeshin, Shiyue, and exceptionally, Daji, who had received Jeshin's permission.

Since Jeshin, who had introduced Daji to the comatose Wen Zhong, had later allowed Daji to pay her respects to Wen Zhong and to take care of him, Daji could meet Wen Zhong alone without a separate companion.

Daji visited Wen Zhong to pay her morning respects as usual.

The warriors who were guarding also recognized Daji and obediently stepped aside without any particular confirmation procedure.

Since the secret chamber where Wen Zhong was sleeping was a sealed space that was not well ventilated, a turbid air gushed out when the door was opened.

The smell of medicinal herbs, the smell of sulfur, and the smell of death filled the room.

Swoosh!

As Daji lifted the curtain, as always, the emaciated Wen Zhong was sleeping quietly in the huge bed.

Who could imagine that this emaciated middle-aged man, who was breathing faintly and evenly, was a peerless master who ruled the world?

His dry skin was gaunt with bones and blood vessels, and his lips were white and chapped, so there was no sign of life.

His complexion was dark, his eyeballs were prominent, and his forehead was sunken like a plum, so the word 'living corpse' could not be more fitting.

"I, Daji, pay my respects to you, old master."

After the decisive battle with the Sword Immortal, the Taoist Lingbao, Wen Zhong was holding on to his life with a tenacious life force.

However, the energy of his original spirit had been damaged by the Taoist Lingbao's sword strike and the misuse of the time-space eye, and moreover, since he had overexerted himself to save Jeshin, his original true qi had scattered, and energy was constantly leaking from his dantian.

If he had not been a superhuman of the supreme level, it would not have been strange at all if he had already died a hundred times.

To take Wen Zhong's life like this was easier than twisting a baby's wrist.

However, if she were to take Wen Zhong's life like this, she could not avoid Jeshin's suspicion, so she could not act rashly.

Moreover, it was Su Hu who wanted Wen Zhong's death, not her.

Although there had been several opportunities, the reason why she had not put it into action was because Daji had a completely different thought from Su Hu.

Swoosh.

Daji took out a small bead the size of a little fingernail from her bosom.

The bead was a jewel that gave off a faint blue light, and if one looked closely, it looked like a living creature, as if the wind and rain and clouds were mixed and moving turbidly.

Although Daji had obtained blood and flesh with the strange magic and skills of King Seong, the essence that formed her foundation was the power of the Heaven beyond Heaven that was flowing in the Hermit's Valley.

Daji, who had been containing that power in the Heaven beyond Heaven, the deepest part of the Hermit's Valley, since she was young, had tied that power into nine essences and had formed her original body.

The small bead that Daji had just taken out was one of the nine beads that contained Daji's essence, and it contained the magic of the Hermit's Valley that could operate the heavens and the earth.

"They say that the qilin is an animal that protects the king."

Daji carefully opened Wen Zhong's dry lips and pushed the bead into his throat.

"Gah!"

As one of the beads that formed her essence scattered, Daji felt a chill run through her body and staggered greatly.

Sweat poured down like rain, and her mind became hazy, as if a tremendous shock was being transmitted to her body and soul.

Daji held on to the pillar of the bed and barely supported her body.

Looking at Daji's face, which had become pale in an instant, it was as if her life had been sucked into Wen Zhong.

"Now it's up to you."

Wen Zhong did not have much time left.

The reason why Su Hu had not asked her about Wen Zhong's life and death was surely because there was no need to. Moreover, if necessary, he would take matters into his own hands.

Judging by Su Hu's personality, it was natural that something would happen to Wen Zhong's condition in the near future.

Who in the Black Contemplation Fortress could stop Su Hu from eliminating Wen Zhong?

In order to live, he had to protect himself.

Daji staggered and went to the entrance of the secret chamber.

Although Wen Zhong had received her essence in his body, his life was only a speck.

In order for a small spark to become a flame that would burn a great mountain again, something was needed to start it.

Daji did not doubt that if Jeshin truly had the mandate of heaven, Wen Zhong would also wake up.

"Oh, oh no!"

As Daji, who had left the secret chamber, staggered and fell, a commotion broke out among the warriors who were guarding the place, as if they had been struck by lightning.

She was a noble person who was receiving all of Jeshin's favor.

Although she was being pushed out of the Black Contemplation Fortress, she was the master of Shiyue, who could be called the King of Hell in the inner court.

If something were to happen to Daji's condition, the lives of those who were guarding this place would be in danger.

Daji, even in her hazy mind, alternately recalled Su Hu and Jeshin and smiled.

* * *

Thump! Thump!

A regular noise echoed, and smoothly cut pieces of wood fell messily on the floor.

The sun was slowly moving towards the zenith, and Jiang Ziya, who was standing at an angle in the shade, was calmly cutting a wooden block.

"You were here!"

Jiang Ziya, who was leisurely making a wooden sculpture, having found a place where the village could be seen at a glance, had a surprised expression at the voice of the Fishing Fortune Master who had found him.

"What's the matter?"

"Congratulations on passing the preliminary round."

The Fishing Fortune Master, shaking a bottle of wine in one hand, approached Jiang Ziya.

Although it would have been difficult to find him because there were many people, Jiang Ziya thought that the Fishing Fortune Master had managed to find him here.

"It's a congratulatory drink."

"Where are the cups?"

"What's with the cups between men... we can just take a sip from each other."

"I don't like that."

Jiang Ziya, seeing the bottle of wine, stopped carving and cut it in half in one go.

And with a skillful hand, he used a pocket knife to carve it into the shape of a wine cup in one go.

"What a great skill. I misjudged you."

Jiang Ziya handed one of the wine cups that had been made like that to the Fishing Fortune Master.

"What do you mean?"

"At first, I thought you were a scholar who liked fishing or a fortune teller."

"So you chose the Fish Dragon Festival as a bet and drew me in?"

Although the preliminary round of the Fish Dragon Festival was extraordinary, it was something that a trained person could pass.

However, looking at the behavior of the martial artists who had participated there, it was clear that it was not an easy thing for an ordinary person to pass the preliminary round.

"I won't apologize."

"Since you brought a congratulatory drink instead of an apology, I'll forgive you."

Jiang Ziya emptied the wine cup in one go.

Although he did not enjoy drinking, he did not want to show a weak side to the Fishing Fortune Master.

Unlike Jiang Ziya, who had blown away the hot energy with his internal energy in one go, the Fishing Fortune Master was rolling the wine cup that Jiang Ziya had handed him with his fingers.

"What is your sect?"

"Why are you suddenly asking about my sect?"

"There was no hesitation in the hand movements of making the wine cup, and the surface is so smooth... you must have gone through a considerable amount of training."

"I've suffered a little."

The Fishing Fortune Master, after emptying the wine in the wine cup into his mouth, as if it were not enough, put the bottle to his mouth and drank it down.

"Didn't you say that was my congratulatory drink?"

"When you drink, you have to drink like this so that you won't be deceived."

Jiang Ziya, recalling the conversation they had had in the inn the previous night, burst into a silly laugh.

"You couldn't have just come to give me a congratulatory drink... you must have heard the news of my passing the preliminary round long ago, so you couldn't have come after me because you were afraid I would run away, right?"

"You are a very difficult person to deceive!"

The Fishing Fortune Master, after emptying the remaining wine, placed the bottle on the floor.

"I heard that there was a fight in the preliminary round. That person must have a grudge against you, so I wanted to tell you to be careful."

"A grudge?"

Jiang Ziya, at the Fishing Fortune Master's words, searched his memory for a moment and then recalled something that he could guess.

"No way... did he have a grudge over something like that?"

"Since you publicly shamed him... he will surely aim for you with determination."

"What about the fact that he bullied an innocent fisherman?"

"What's so important about that?"

Jiang Ziya was furious at the pettiness of the martial artist whose name he did not even know.

(End of Chapter)