Through the Martial Soul Society, Bu Eunseol delivered the secret of the Valley of Immortals to Hyega.
The situation was so urgent that there wasn't even time to meet him in person.
The movements of the Returning to One Realm Lord, who had appeared in the Valley of Immortals, had to be investigated as quickly as possible. Identifying the time and location of the appearance of such a top-tier figure from the Three Realms was invaluable information—something that could never be bought, no matter how much wealth or time was invested.
‘Thank you. I will surely repay the favor you have shown this humble monk in the future.
After sending a brief message to Bu Eunseol via the Martial Soul Society, Hyega returned to Mount Changbai.
Meanwhile, having returned to Majeon, Bu Eunseol activated the Martial Soul Society's information network to its maximum capacity. Finally, Yoo Unryong, who had captured the movements of the Returning to One Realm Lord, brought back an unexpected result.
"This is a bit strange."
Scratching his head, Yoo Unryong furrowed his brows.
"It wasn't difficult to find traces of his movements."
Tingling with doubt, he pointed to a section of a wide-spread map and continued his explanation.
"It’s right here. The individual presumed to be the Realm Lord moved immediately from the Valley of Immortals to this location."
Licking his dry lips, Yoo Unryong continued.
"It’s as if... he anticipated we would track him and intentionally left a trail."
Looking at the map, Bu Eunseol suddenly thought of the Realm Lord. Clad in an endless black darkness while wearing that iron mask, he was like a terrifying Demon King intent on staining the world in shadow. Even the high-ranking officials of the Three Realms described the Returning to One Realm Lord as a demon who would lead the world to ruin.
‘But is that not the case?’
Bu Eunseol had consistently uncovered the secret plans of the Returning to One Realm and destroyed their strongholds. Despite that, rather than killing him, they had actually been protecting him. Even in the Valley of Immortals, if he had set his mind to it... he could have easily killed him.
Yet, he never dealt the finishing blow.
And his actual face…
It looked exactly like his grandfather’s younger years.
Bu Eunseol pressed his hand to his forehead in confusion.
"So that was it."
"What are you talking about?"
Breaking out of his reverie, Bu Eunseol spoke.
"He is calling me."
Taking a deep breath, his eyes flashed.
"He wants me to come to that place."
He could feel it instinctively. The Realm Lord had intentionally revealed his tracks and was luring him to that location.
"But why?"
Yoo Unryong spoke as if he couldn't understand.
"Someone of the Realm Lord's caliber shouldn't need to intentionally reveal his tracks to lure you."
Bu Eunseol bit his lip. He then recounted everything he had experienced in the Valley of Immortals.
"What?"
After listening silently with a serious expression for a long time, Yoo Unryong brightened considerably at the part where the Realm Lord had been helping Bu Eunseol all along.
"Isn't that encouraging news?"
His face lit up.
If the fearsome Returning to One Realm Lord was a blood relative of Bu Zhanyang? If the leader of such a terrifying power held goodwill toward Bu Eunseol and had been helping him? It was like gaining a million-strong army. Even the search for the secrets of Saha Manor, which felt so distant, might be resolved in a short time.
"It can't be pure goodwill."
Bu Eunseol shook his head.
"I’ve thought about it deeply since then. If he were a relative and intended to help me secretly... how would he have acted?"
"The Realm Lord's personality might be eccentric, so he might just not want to cooperate or join forces with you."
"True. But if that were the case, there would be no reason to help someone like me, who has been secretly dismantling the Returning to One Realm."
Yoo Unryong let out a small gasp.
"Then the fact that he secretly erased your tracks and didn't kill you..."
"Correct."
Bu Eunseol’s eyes flashed.
"Just like the other powerhouses who overlook the martial world, the Returning to One Realm Lord is also using me for his own purposes."
"I see."
Yoo Unryong slapped his forehead.
In the martial world, there is a saying that possessing a treasure is a sin. People of the martial world are greedy; they take it as a given to steal from others or use them. Especially Bu Eunseol—by his mere existence. Not only did he hold many secrets, but from the perspective of the ultra-powerful, he was like a treasure with infinite utility.
If the Realm Lord were someone purely seeking revenge, he had countless opportunities to convey that intent to Bu Eunseol. Ultimately, he, too, was just another person trying to use Bu Eunseol for his own ends.
"I suppose that's more likely."
Yoo Unryong shook his head with a disappointed expression.
"Not just anyone, but that Returning to One Realm Lord."
Up until now, the Three Realms had repeated cruel experiments.
Among them, the one that committed the most atrocious and bizarre acts was the Returning to One Realm.
It was only natural that the leader of such a group could not truly be a good person. Even if it were true that he helped Bu Eunseol, it was obvious that some hidden objective lay beneath it.
"Even so, I have no choice but to go."
"Indeed."
Bu Eunseol nodded.
"However, if a figure like the Realm Lord is luring me, he won't be setting a petty or cheap trap. If that were his intent, he could have just killed me in the Valley of Immortals."
"Yeah, I suppose so."
Yoo Unryong’s eyes narrowed. The Realm Lords of the Three Realms had always been hidden behind a veil. Now, a Realm Lord himself had appeared and was approaching Bu Eunseol. Perhaps they were finally getting closer to the goal.
"Be careful."
Yoo Unryong could only say this. Whether it was a trap or not, he had to go. And through this, they would be able to clearly grasp the Realm Lord’s intentions.
***
The place Bu Eunseol arrived at was the Geumjeong Terrace on Mount Cheonyu. From this spot with its wide-open scenery, two large rocks were visible.
The smooth, round rocks called the Jade Beads of the Divine Firmament looked exactly as their name suggested—like giant go stones artificially carved by a god. Some called them the Heavenly Chess Jade, saying a celestial deity dropped them while playing go, while others called them the Spirit Cloud Heavenly Go. Many tourists visited Mount Cheonyu just to see these beads.
However, since it was currently a cold winter and the path to Geumjeong Terrace was extremely treacherous, there were no traces of tourists.
"It was definitely intentional."
Upon reaching the terrace, Bu Eunseol felt it even more strongly. Even if it wasn't crowded now, a famous tourist spot was not the kind of place the Realm Lord—who usually moved like a hidden dragon—would frequent. In other words, he had intentionally left traces here to call him.
"If it’s a place tourists visit during specific seasons, there’s only one use for it."
The answer came without much thought. Throughout his journey in the martial world, he had learned that such locations provided the perfect conditions for maintaining an Absolute Boundary.
Bu Eunseol immediately began to spread his Wind-Cloud Divine Qi across the entire terrace.
Saaaa.
The qi stretched out continuously, but he felt nothing like an Absolute Boundary.
'If it’s not an Absolute Boundary, why did he call me to a place like this?'
After thinking it over for a long time, Bu Eunseol closed his eyes. He began to examine every aura he could sense there, but nothing special was discovered.
'A man like the Realm Lord wouldn't leak this information out of boredom.
Bu Eunseol thought deeper.
'The Realm Lord... the Returning to One Realm…’
The Returning to One Realm.
They had always been obsessed with the Hundred and Eight Stars and were those who tried to inherit the martial arts of past masters by using their corpses.
'Hundred and Eight Stars, and corpses.’
These were the words associated with the Returning to One Realm.
They sought out those with the Hundred and Eight Stars and tried to transmit martial arts and power through the bodies of past masters. No, calling it "transmission" was a stretch; in reality, they tried to create monsters whose humanity was annihilated through cruel experiments and Great Methods.
Hadn't those who tried to inherit the energy of the Hundred and Eight Stars through the Demon-Killer Swords eventually lost their humanity?
If a Great Method of the Returning to One Realm was deployed here, it had to be related to either the Hundred and Eight Stars or corpses.
"The Hundred and Eight Stars are constellations."
And since ancient times, constellations were accepted as places where death or souls were engraved.
"Corpses also touch upon the meaning of death."
Death.
In a broad interpretation, the terms Hundred and Eight Stars and corpses both symbolized death.
And in the Returning to One Realm, death was not considered an end, but rather a passage that connects generations. Reaching this thought, the two large rocks looked like a massive tomb.
"And what connects that passage is blood."
The Returning to One Realm always used blood. When they resurrected the dead Blood Emperor into a new body, it was filled with blood-water. When they tried to lure warriors born with the Hundred and Eight Stars through the Demon-Killer Swords, they used the blood of the strong.
"If the Realm Lord is calling me..."
Bu Eunseol walked between the large rocks.
"He surely wants me to use my blood."
Cutting himself with the Silent Tiger Soul Sword, he let his blood drip onto the large rock. This massive stone was surely a gravesite representing this world and the next, and the door to it would be opened by his blood.
As soon as the blood touched the cold stone surface...
Koo-room.
A low vibration spread, as if the ancient earth was drawing a breath. Simultaneously, faint patterns were engraved on the rock's surface, slowly beginning to glow in the darkness. Before long, the formless patterns, a mix of gold and blue, writhed like living snakes, connecting to form a celestial constellation.
Krk-rk-rk, Kwa-aaaa.
Then, an eerie sound echoed from the two rocks, which had turned white like pebbles.
—Shal-la-lang.
It sounded like massive stones grinding against each other, followed by a majestic sound as if a primordial world were awakening.
'This is…’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes flew open.
Suddenly, a thick mist rose between the two rocks, and within that mist, the faint shapes of souls shimmered. They were like grim reapers silently guarding the entrance, emitting a powerful murderous intent.
'I shouldn't just walk through.
After a moment's hesitation, Bu Eunseol drew another drop of blood and threw it into the mist.
Saaaa.
Then, as if a seal were broken, the mist slowly cleared. The floating souls, as if keeping an ancient vow, lined up on both sides to open a path. As they moved aside, a mysterious space unfolded in the darkness beyond the entrance.
'I'm going in.’
Bu Eunseol stepped inside without hesitation. Upon entering, light flowed from the ceiling as if starlight had melted, and a passage where constellations different from reality sparkled began to appear on the walls.
'This isn't an artificial passage made by man.’
With every step in the seemingly endless passage, images of a sacred place where death and ancient rituals were intertwined appeared in his mind. It was a mysterious realm where forbidden truths slept, like a temple dedicated to a god.
'Why am I seeing these illusions?'
Leaving his questions behind, Bu Eunseol walked silently and discovered what looked like an exit in the distance. The souls that had lined up at the entrance were now standing on both sides of the exit as well.
Step, step.
As Bu Eunseol neared the exit...
Grin.
Evil smiles appeared on the faces of the souls who had been opening the way. It was as if they had been waiting for him to fall into a trap.
Kwa-woo-ung.
Suddenly, red light rose from the ground where he stood, and the passage that looked like an exit drifted far away.
Crackle.
As the exit grew infinitely distant, a sensation as if time and space were twisting tore at his nerves, and ominous sounds reached his ears. The souls that had been gathered suddenly swarmed Bu Eunseol and began to whisper unknown words into his ears.
Saaaa.
Whispers mixed with a chilling coldness sounded continuously. They were the forgotten vows of the long-dead, the desperate last words left before death, and the regrets and grudges of past lives.
Freeze.
Hearing those whispers, Bu Eunseol suddenly found himself unable to take a single step.
Words have the power to shake the human heart.
Hearing negative words allows negative thoughts to seize the spirit. The words these souls were pouring out were like curses filled with grudges and terrible regrets that couldn't be spent even after hundreds of years. As language possessing such power pierced directly into his mind, his firm spiritual barriers began to crumble and tremble.
‘I can't let this happen.’
Bu Eunseol tried to ignore the words, but the more he tried, his past memories and emotions intersected, and images of himself making various countless choices arose. A choice is a condition for moving forward. But human choice inevitably leaves regret. Recalling his past self, those memories instead became a trigger to expose the incompleteness and weakness of his spirit.
—Admit that you have walked a wrong path.
—Do not deny that there is fear within you.
If he stopped walking, his mind would be shattered instantly, and his soul would be trapped here.
‘I must move forward.’
Humans are not gods.
Looking back, life is bound to be riddled with regret, and no matter what choice one makes, lingering sorrow remains. Sometimes, what was the best choice can become the worst choice after time passes.
‘I was the same.’
If he had followed his grandfather’s words.
If he had used the Hwagolsan instead.
At the very least, his grandfather’s remains wouldn't have been used by wicked people, and he wouldn't have been prevented from entering eternal rest…
‘...’
—The emotion of regret can also be an opportunity to make the heart firmer. So, you must not deny the past or the mistakes of that time.
His grandfather had told him many stories specifically about regret. Looking back, it was likely because he himself had so many regrets.
—Just as the bright dawn must come after the dark night, even if you are stained by darkness now, a moment of light will surely come.
His grandfather’s calm smile had brightly lit their small single-room home. Perhaps his grandfather had found that light long ago through his life as a Mortician and through their happy daily life together.
‘I must move forward too.’
To Bu Eunseol back then, his grandfather was the person who created light in the world and was his entire life. Even if he went back to the past, that choice would not change. Even if he went back a thousand times, he would never, ever have used the Hwagolsan.
‘In the end, nothing changes.’
Finally, Bu Eunseol realized. There may be regret, but the choice does not change. People regret past choices and feel sorrow that it wasn't the best one, but it is because of that choice that the "current me" exists.
‘Otherwise, all of the past would just become the word "regret". Because those moments of choice existed, the "current me" existed.’
Upon realizing this truth, Bu Eunseol was able to move forward step by step. As he pushed through the curtain of mist, the floor suddenly vanished. An endless darkness spread beneath his feet, and a path made of faint light floated above it.
The moment he walked along that path...
"You must not enter here!"
This time, it wasn't the remorse of souls, but a human voice. It was the voice of Yoo Unryong. Turning his head, he saw Yoo Unryong, drenched in sweat, running from the entrance.
Yoo Unryong shouted as he ran.
"This is a trap! If you keep going, you'll die!"
Coming closer, Yoo Unryong’s face was covered in sweat.
He had used his qinggong with everything he had to follow him from Majeon all the way here.
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