Step, step.
At that moment, Yoo Unryong stepped forward toward Shindo Jangcheon with a grim expression.
Twitch.
Seeing this, Shindo Jangcheon’s eyebrows shot upward. He realized that Yoo Unryong had stepped forward to face him personally.
"A corps leader of Majeon, and one of the Ten Demon Warriors at that, thinks he can face this Palace Lord?"
Shindo Jangcheon’s hands were exceptionally large and coarse compared to his body. With bones thickened at every joint, bulging veins, and yellow calluses, his palms resembled old tree bark—they were lethal weapons in their own right. Furthermore, though he stood there nonchalantly, he radiated an unknown dread, as if he might unleash a thunderous palm strike at any moment.
"We won't know who is better until we fight, will we?"
Shing.
Yoo Unryong suddenly drew a dagger from his robes.
"Do as you please."
As Shindo Jangcheon leisurely extended his hand:
"Very well."
Crunch.
Yoo Unryong thrust the dagger directly into the divine treasure worn on his wrist.
Drip, drip.
Suddenly, the surrounding scenery began to melt away like black ink.
The background where Shindo Jangcheon and Yoo Unryong stood changed completely, and Bu Eunseol and Eung Bi were no longer visible. By using the power of the divine treasure brought from the Divine Maiden Palace, he had deployed a new Heart Mirror Technique, creating a space similar to a restriction.
As a taut tension filled the air, Yoo Unryong drew the longsword at his waist and spoke in a low voice.
"Now, let us begin."
***
As Yoo Unryong deployed the Heart Mirror Technique and vanished into the darkness, Eung Bi's eyes flashed.
He instantly transformed into the shape of a single sword, melting into the shadows, transcending time and space.
Thud.
In an instant, he thrust his right hand deep into Bu Eunseol’s heart. No matter what ability an enemy possessed or what realm of martial arts they had reached, this was an attack that could not be avoided or resisted—a strike that was guaranteed to hit.
This was the manifestation of a power that only the Heavenly Killing Star could deploy.
Eung Bi wore a triumphant smile.
Since a master of his caliber had thrust his hand in up to the wrist, there was no way the opponent could survive. However, the eyebrows of Eung Bi—whose hand was buried in the heart—suddenly twitched.
He couldn't feel a heart beating vividly at his fingertips, nor did he feel the sensation of skin and flesh being torn apart.
At that moment, Bu Eunseol grabbed Eung Bi’s hand, which had supposedly pierced his heart, with his right hand. He applied pressure and began to slowly pull the hand out.
Eung Bi's complexion changed instantly.
'He is surpassing the physical strength of the Heavenly Killing Star, who can lift a mountain with a finger?'
The power of the Heavenly Killing Star was an absolute supernatural ability. No matter how great one's martial arts or internal energy, it could never be blocked. So how could he lift his hand away while his heart was supposedly pierced?
As he finally lifted Eung Bi’s hand completely, a black hole began to slowly appear near Bu Eunseol’s heart. What Eung Bi had pierced was not his heart, but a black hole he had created in that space.
"Are you enjoying yourself?"
Black mist was flowing from Bu Eunseol’s eyes, and a somewhat wicked smile hung on his lips.
"Who... are you?"
Eung Bi spoke those words instinctively. He felt that the person before him was not the Martial Soul Command Lord he knew, but an entirely different entity.
"Who am I?"
Bu Eunseol spoke in an incredibly playful tone.
"I am the one who crawled out from the abyss to kill you."
"What?"
Reflected in the eyes of the Heavenly Killing Star was the face of Bu Eunseol, smiling more brightly than ever.
***
—It will take at least three days to get in touch with him. I will go into closed-door cultivation for three days.
After giving Yoo Unryong the booklet containing the strategy to dismantle the Extinction Palace's conspiracy, Bu Eunseol entered seclusion.
Inside the secret room, where a faint oil lamp struggled against the darkness, a large mirror reflecting his entire body had been installed.
'The Heavenly Mechanism Star believes he can preside over all affairs under heaven without ever showing his face.'
Bu Eunseol sank into thought with his hands behind his back. Through the secret vault of the Hundred Swords Sect Sect, he had realized that many powerhouses of the martial world had been replaced by followers of the True Demon. Therefore, from the moment the Extinction Palace formalized its withdrawal and publicly used him as an excuse, he could guess that everything was a plan targeting him.
"It makes sense."
He was the successor of the Majeon, the legitimate heir of the Nangyang Pavilion, and commanded numerous forces and intelligence organizations. But he had also clashed with the Three Realms, the Three Families, the Baekri Clan, and the followers of the True Demon.
In short, he had collided with all the hidden powers of the world; it was no exaggeration to say he was at the very top of their hit list.
'Even if the Returning to One Realm Lord protected me, it would be the same.'
In the past, the Returning to One Realm Lord had used the power of his realm to erase Bu Eunseol's tracks and protect him from external forces. Regardless, his status as the Martial Soul Command Lord was that of a young grandmaster representing the future of the Demonic Way.
Considering his achievements, his rumored brilliance, and his subordinates, there was a high probability that an assassination attempt would backfire and ruin the enemies' grand scheme.
In other words, no matter how great the force, assassinating the successor of the Majeon carried a heavy risk. Even if it succeeded, it could leave an unmanageable aftermath caused by the many factions that supported him. Therefore, the best method was:
"As they have always done, replacing the real one with a fake."
If they could secretly replace the Martial Soul Command Lord? They wouldn't have to worry about a backlash from his supporters, and they could freely use his status as the Majeon's heir to suit their tastes.
"Then they must drive me into a place where I can never escape and where the eyes of intelligence organizations are completely blocked."
Without this, even if they could kill him easily, they couldn't deceive the eyes of the Martial Soul Command, a powerful intelligence network. But driving such a man to a perfect death was no easy task.
'Therefore, by moving a giant pawn like the Extinction Palace...'
Bu Eunseol's eyes flashed.
'...they lured me to a place where no intelligence organization could detect the internal situation.'
He took a deep breath and muttered:
"In that case, they must have prepared at least one person who can definitely kill me."
No matter how much the Lord of the Extinction Palace's prowess had reached the Limitless Realm, they would know for certain that he couldn't win a complete victory against him. Moreover, at the stage of the Transcendental Realm, numerical superiority meant nothing. They had clearly prepared a master who could definitely kill him rather than a large army.
"A supernatural power that martial arts cannot touch."
Bu Eunseol was the successor recognized by Ak Muryeong, a man obsessed with martial arts.
Unless they brought the Demon Emperor or the Grand Demon Ancestors, achieving a total victory through martial arts alone was difficult. Thus, the easiest way would be to bring a master with a powerful supernatural ability that bypassed martial logic.
"In that case, I also need the power of a supernatural ability."
Fortunately, he didn't have to look far. Deep within his own abyss, the persona of Baekri Geomha possessed a mighty supernatural power.
"I only need to be able to manifest it once."
In a fight between masters, one only needs to seize the advantage once. Baekri Geomha's power was not mere physical strength; it was closer to an indefinable, abstract concept. With that power, he could surely destroy this enemy.
"For it is a fragment of Harmony that destroys all things."
The reason Baekri Geomha was able to crush the Martial God Heavenly Lord who "ruled" over space was because his power could destroy not only physical objects but also indefinable concepts.
For example, he could destroy the concept of 'Defense' to make all attacks land, or destroy the concept of 'Speed' to seal all movement. He could even neutralize the very concepts a human perceives.
"But to manifest that power..."
Bu Eunseol's eyes narrowed.
"A moment of desperate crisis is required."
Back then, the Martial God Heavenly Lord had unleashed an uncontrollable power, driving him to the brink of death.
It was at that final moment, as he was about to draw his last breath, that the persona of Baekri Geomha forcibly emerged to face the Heavenly Lord.
"He probably doesn't want me to die either."
Though they were conflicting personalities, they resided in one body; they were essentially a community of shared fate.
If so, negotiation was possible.
If he lost this fight, not only would Bu Eunseol die, but the persona of Baekri Geomha within would also vanish.
"But the risk is too great."
The persona of Baekri Geomha was devoid of common emotion, cold, and selfish. Once a negotiation began, it might mark a permanent change. Above all, if he entered the abyss, he might lose his body to the other self.
"No, I would definitely lose it."
The abyss was Baekri Geomha's domain. No matter what method he used, he couldn't resist him there; he would surely be usurped.
As he agonized for a long while, the image of Ak Muryeong—the Human Demon who reigned over the martial world as a walking disaster—suddenly came to mind.
"The Reverse Mirror of the Mind."
It was a formula from the Illusion Upon Illusion he had been taught recently. It meant using the mirror of the mind in reverse to shake the enemy's spirit and collapse their soul.
'It wasn't just for the fight against Jongbaek.'
Thinking deeply, Bu Eunseol's eyes flashed. Ak Muryeong had known not just his physical state, but the state of his soul as well.
"Use the mirror of the mind in reverse."
If he used this formula, he wouldn't have to enter the abyss; he could call Baekri Geomha into reality and even swallow that persona himself.
Illusion Upon Illusion.
It was the ultimate secret of the Great Demonic Arts, capable of distorting reality and shaking a human's soul to its roots. Furthermore, to master it meant inheriting Ak Muryeong’s understanding of the universe, his perspective on the phenomenon of life, and the totality of the profound science that controls the soul.
Because of this, Ak Muryeong had not taught the full secret to Bu Eunseol—the moment he mastered it, he would become a second Human Demon. After much deliberation, Ak Muryeong had separated only the formulas Bu Eunseol needed and passed them down.
Thinking of Ak Muryeong made Bu Eunseol's heart feel warm.
In the martial world, he was called a symbol of slaughter and bloodthirst, an evil demon who could stop a baby's crying just by the mention of his name. But the existence behind the mask of the Human Demon was actually a man more human than anyone else, hiding warmth beneath a cold gaze.
"Let's begin."
Thanks to the formulas Ak Muryeong had provided, Bu Eunseol realized the way to summon Baekri Geomha’s persona into reality. He closed his eyes and concentrated his mind to the extreme.
'I am Baekri Geomha.'
He began to synchronize his consciousness with the persona in the abyss, mimicking his speech, habits, state of consciousness, and the sensation of the energy he felt when he used that explosive power.
Pffft.
After concentrating for a while, Bu Eunseol spat out a glob of blood. Even if they were connected by blood and shared the same body, summoning that consciousness into reality was no easy task. Trying to summon another persona while leaving the original one intact was harder than trying to divide one body into two.
'For now, I must acknowledge his existence.'
Unless he accepted and acknowledged the existence of Baekri Geomha, he could never summon that persona into reality. As the first day passed and the second approached, Bu Eunseol stopped the synchronization and looked into the mirror.
Suddenly, the mirror seemed to melt away, and an infinitely black, dark hole revealed itself. Staring into the hole for a long time, he saw a black shadow crouching at the bottom.
It was Baekri Geomha.
He was sound asleep.
"Father said that unlike the Baekri bloodline, I wasn't born with dual personalities."
If so, there must be a reason why his personality was split in two. Though he couldn't remember yet, he had to find the reason why he and Baekri Geomha were divided.
Reach.
Bu Eunseol slowly extended his arm. He intended to carefully dissolve the persona of the sleeping Baekri Geomha using Illusion Upon Illusion. With this formula, while not perfect, he could somehow dissolve that persona and pull fragments of his power into himself.
However, a moment of hesitation surged. The sleeping Baekri Geomha, who looked like a boy, did not look evil or cold. On the contrary, he looked beautiful and full of life.
"Was he also a part of me?"
Bu Eunseol finally realized. Though they seemed separated into two, in reality, he was also another version of himself. He could never turn his back on that persona.
'He is not an enemy to be destroyed.'
Baekri Geomha was not an enemy trying to steal his body. He was surely another self, split for some reason.
'I give up.'
Bu Eunseol ultimately decided to give up on seizing his power.
"Sleep for now," Bu Eunseol muttered softly while looking at the sleeping boy. "I will surely find the reason why this happened."
After taking a deep breath, just as he was about to turn his gaze away from the mirror:
[Weakling.]
The sleeping Baekri Geomha muttered lowly from within the black hole. Then, he slowly opened his large, long eyes. It turned out he had been pretending to sleep all along.
[To give up because of pity... If you seize an opportunity to kill an enemy, you must cut their breath. What useless sentimentality.]
Slowly rising, Baekri Geomha stared intently at Bu Eunseol beyond the mirror.
[Since I'm in this state, it eventually came to this. I have no choice.]
He stretched and shook his head.
[Fine, I'll help you.]
Baekri Geomha stared at Bu Eunseol with a pathetic look.
[If you fall, I die too.]
"Were you listening the whole time?"
[How could I not?] Baekri Geomha said irritably. [You were muttering to yourself like a peddler caught in the rain.]
Bu Eunseol wore a bitter smile. He had been devising strategies with all his might to solve the Extinction Palace's crisis. It seemed those intensely repeated thoughts had been shared with Baekri Geomha in the abyss.
[It was a good choice, though.] Baekri Geomha laughed confidently. [But you misinterpreted the formula.]
"What?"
[Heart Mirror Reverse Reflection, Shock the Enemy's Heart and Soul.]
Baekri Geomha said with a smirk.
[Who is the one in the advantageous position to use the mirror of the mind in reverse, shake the enemy's spirit, and collapse their soul?]
"The mirror of the mind..."
Bu Eunseol finally realized. The one residing in the abyss of the soul was Baekri Geomha. In other words, if Bu Eunseol tried to swallow him?
He could use the reverse mirror to shake Bu Eunseol's spirit and take over the body instead.
Ak Muryeong had left a warning that an clumsy attempt at dissolution could allow the dual personality to steal the body in this manner. For Bu Eunseol would surely try to summon that persona into reality without entering the abyss.
"I see."
Bu Eunseol nodded, acknowledging Baekri Geomha’s words. "But in the end, I would have won."
Baekri Geomha laughed, revealing his white teeth.
[I do like that groundless confidence of yours.]
After a moment of silence, he spoke again. [Fine, I will give you the technique.]
At that moment, a passage of about a thousand characters appeared in Bu Eunseol’s head.
It was a part of the secret to controlling one's persona that his father, Baekri Muha, had passed down while they were at the Saha Manor. According to this secret, the personalities could be unified for a short duration.
[When you call my name, we shall try to unify our personas.]
Surprisingly, Baekri Geomha had accepted Bu Eunseol’s proposal without a second thought.
"That's unexpected," Bu Eunseol said. "I thought you would set many conditions."
[Well, you're the smarter one anyway, aren't you?]
Because Bu Eunseol was extremely cautious and possessed brilliant wit, Baekri Geomha knew it was useless to try to deceive him or steal his body.
[If you die, I die.]
"Very well," Bu Eunseol nodded. "Let's do that."
[But remember this.] Baekri Geomha showed a wicked smile, baring his fangs. [The temporary mixing is my idea, but you might never be able to return to how you were.]
"Do not worry about that."
Bu Eunseol smiled, revealing his white teeth just like Baekri Geomha. "When that time comes, we will surely be separated."
***
As the flashback ended, the corner of Bu Eunseol's mouth curved up coldly. Before his heart could be caught by Eung Bi's hand, he had unified his persona with Baekri Geomha. Because of that, he had neutralized the supernatural ability of the Heavenly Killing Star.
Sssss.
His body was emitting white steam like boiling water.
Because the personas of Bu Eunseol and Baekri Geomha had mixed, his soul became clouded, and the energy within him began to seethe. If things continued like this, he might become neither Bu Eunseol nor Baekri Geomha.
"Where are you looking?"
At that moment, Eung Bi thrust his palm into Bu Eunseol’s lower abdomen again. Seeing his gaze blur and the strange steam rising from his body, he did not miss the opportunity.
"Ho, so you had the power of an identity as well?"
Eung Bi's pupils turned purple, and his skin began to turn as white as if it were painted with powder.
"Good. I shall annihilate it all."
The Heavenly Mechanism Star had not called the Heavenly Killing Star as the pawn to kill Bu Eunseol for nothing. There was another authority that the Heavenly Killing Star, who possessed all the powers of the One Hundred and Eight Stars, could deploy: a power that dragged all supernatural abilities into the abyss and annihilated them as if eroding them.
The Extinguishing Lotus Flame.
As the Heavenly Killing Star used the power of the Extinguishing Lotus Flame, white mist rose from Bu Eunseol’s body in an instant, and the power of Baekri Geomha circulating within him was annihilated.
But it was strange.
The one who had made the strike was clearly Eung Bi, yet he was the one staring wide-eyed at his own stomach, as if a dagger had been thrust into his lower abdomen.
Eung Bi bit his lip and screamed. "What... what did you do?"
His eyes trembled faintly.
By using the Extinguishing Lotus Flame to destroy the supernatural power in Bu Eunseol’s body, all the power of the Heavenly Killing Star he possessed had been cleanly annihilated as well.
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