Bu Eunseol clenched his fists tightly.
He had been searching for one thing all this time: a perfect space that could block any attack and any intruder.
‘If the ancient Blood Life Formation Studies are truly possible.’
If the ancient Blood Life Formations existed and he could deploy them, then completing it would no longer be a mere dream.
“Kuaaagh!”
At that moment, a horrific scream erupted from somewhere.
Snapping out of his thoughts, he quickly headed toward the source. When he finally arrived at the origin of the sound, a scene resembling a living hell unfolded before him.
It was a narrow cavern. The walls on all sides were made of disgustingly writhing red flesh, and the floor was covered in sticky mucus that reached up to his ankles.
There were numerous young martial artists there.
Some could not even scream. Others had eyes already filled with despair and drained of vitality.
It looked as if a giant monster had swallowed the people and was using them as its nourishment.
‘They are the younger generation talents.’
Everyone inside the cavern was a young disciple from the righteous sects who had not yet shed their youthful appearance.
From the red fleshy walls, long, thin protrusions extended out and clung to them.
The young people’s bodies withered rapidly, their hair turned white, and their skin became dry and wrinkled. Wherever the protrusions touched, it seemed their life force and essence were being drained. Every time the protrusions writhed, the fleshy walls became stained with an even more vivid blood-red color.
Drip. Drip.
Bu Eunseol waded through the sticky mucus and entered the cavern to save them. Immediately, long protrusions shot out from the red flesh walls and began attaching to his body.
“If I recklessly use internal energy or martial techniques here, they will be in danger.”
In this narrow space, if he unleashed energy or fist techniques that shattered the walls, the young people with protrusions attached to them would also be torn apart.
Squish. Squish.
In the meantime, the slippery long protrusions densely pierced into Bu Eunseol’s entire skin. The moment the protrusions broke through the skin and tried to suck his bodily fluids—
Clang!
Bu Eunseol’s eyes began to turn pitch black.
He had activated the ability of the Poison Sovereign, instantly releasing a powerful vascular poison that coagulated blood.
Sizzle!
The protrusions that absorbed the poison began to writhe violently.
Gurgle.
Soon the red fleshy walls trembled faintly, and even the mucus-covered floor shook.
Thud. Thud!
The fallen protrusions writhed in agony like snakes with their necks strangled. Eventually, they hardened into stiff blood clots and collapsed onto the floor like limp ropes. Only then did the young people whose life force had been drained begin to groan and slowly rise. The protrusions had not extracted their vitality and blood in one go, but had slowly sucked it over a relatively long time.
It seemed their lives were not in immediate danger. However, they had no strength left to move.
One by one, they all collapsed back down.
They tried to circulate their energy somehow, but with almost no internal energy remaining and their bodies heavily injured, almost none could properly move their qi.
“They barely survived with their lives intact.”
Judging by how difficult it was for them to even circulate energy, even if they escaped this place, it would be hard for them to practice martial arts again.
‘This is a problem for each sect to solve.’
Bu Eunseol did not bother taking out his own supreme healing pills to save them. The supreme healing pills were elixirs that saved lives, not medicines that restored damaged martial arts. Each sect had their own spiritual medicines and elixirs, so they might be able to restore the youths’ bodies.
Leaving the seated young people behind, Bu Eunseol walked back into the darkness. If he delayed any longer, Tang Gon and Zhuge Seoun might end up in the same state.
‘What is this now?’
After advancing for quite some time, another bizarre sight caught his eye.
The passage gradually widened.
He saw a massive structure shaped like pitch-black giant ribs, with numerous humans densely embedded in it.
“Te Black Path’s leaders…”
The people embedded there were all leaders of the Black Path or those who had committed evil deeds their entire lives. Below the structure where they were embedded, there were holes through which mucus and black liquid flowed.
Thick, dark energy from the embedded people’s bodies dripped down into the holes.
It was as if all the evil karma and wicked energy they had accumulated had condensed into liquid.
As the black energy fell away, their bodies crumbled as if melting, and even their flesh turned black and dripped into the sticky mucus on the floor.
‘Now I understand.’
Only then did Bu Eunseol realize why only three types of people could enter this secret realm.
Each group’s unique energy was needed.
The young talents from earlier had their righteous energy and life force drained.
The greedy and Black Path members had their demonic energy extracted.
Then, what the remaining outstanding talents or those skilled in special arts were being robbed of was obvious even without seeing it.
‘Tang Gon. Zhuge Seoun.’
Bu Eunseol’s heart grew urgent.
He quickly passed through the sticky passage, and this time a vast space appeared, constantly emitting pale white steam.
Leech-like fleshy masses clung to the high ceiling, and from each mass, slippery tube-like tentacles extended down. The ends of the tubes were connected to people’s heads. The attached fleshy masses vibrated faintly as they sucked in cloudy brain matter through the tubes.
Even in this horrific process, the victims were still breathing.
Their eyes were rolled back white, and their bodies repeatedly convulsed and relaxed.
They were being turned into empty shells after having their brains and everything inside their heads stolen.
Thud!
Eventually, those who had everything sucked out of them collapsed powerlessly to the floor. Their dried-up bodies lay motionless on the ground.
Crack!
Bu Eunseol unconsciously clenched his fists tightly.
As expected, the Ten-Thousand-Li Treasure Ship was itself a colossal Blood Life Formation that absorbed human blood and essence, using martial artists as nourishment.
‘It was all to use the grand technique.’
Originally, the whip’s use began with herding livestock or handling horses, and it was also used as a tool to punish criminals.
However, in the demonic path’s unorthodox methods, its history was different.
It originated from ritual tools used by those who practiced bizarre and wicked sorcery. In the demonic path, hair was not simply part of the body, but a spiritual medium containing a person’s qi and soul. Therefore, the demonic path used the hair of women who died unjustly while still virgins, or women who died harboring extreme resentment, as ritual tools in the form of weapons.
The unorthodox methods of the White Horse Temple developed by isolating only those wicked ritual aspects. The Vajra Demon Sect, which shared the same origin, mainly used sorcery and grand techniques rather than unorthodox methods.
Those horrific fleshy masses endlessly drank in people’s brain matter. The absorption process was so cruel and miserable that one could not bear to watch with open eyes.
These were people who had trained in martial arts for a long time and took pride in being martial artists, yet, now, they had been reduced to mere nutrients by the Vajra Demon Sect.
“Uuuuh…”
The space was filled with the victims’ final short screams and the writhing of the fleshy masses.
Slurp. Gulp.
It was filled with the eerie sucking sounds of brain matter being drawn in.
‘I will rot you from the inside out.’
Looking up at the horrific tentacles hanging from the ceiling dozens of zhang high, Bu Eunseol resolutely placed his hand on the red wall.
‘I will use poison again.’
The Vajra Demon Sect was known as a group of greedy demons. They might easily withstand ordinary poison.
But Bu Eunseol’s poison was different.
He had already completed the Poison Sea Essence, allowing him to instantly create any poison he desired.
Stab!
He thrust his left hand deep into the wall and poured out his poison energy. The red fleshy wall, which had been vividly colored, began to turn a horrifying white.
Rumble!
As the poison spread, the entire interior shook violently as if a massive earthquake had struck.
The interior of the Blood Life Formation was like a living body. It was as if he had sent deadly poison through the circulatory system to every organ.
Sizzle!
As it was contaminated by the poison, a foul stench rose from all directions. The internal pressure changed rapidly, and parts of the flesh began to melt.
Thud. Thud!
The horrific fleshy masses attached to people’s heads fell powerlessly, and from the tubes, sticky white liquid that had been absorbed flowed backward and poured down like a waterfall.
Splash. Splash.
In the pouring liquid, the people whose heads were still plugged into the tubes fell down powerlessly. They were still breathing, but their brains had already turned into liquid and been absorbed by the fleshy masses through the tubes. It was impossible to save their lives.
Those among them who were still breathing let out painful groans.
The only relief was that Tang Gon and Zhuge Seoun were not visible here.
Looking at the miserable scene, Bu Eunseol bit his lip.
Swish!
He unfolded the Wishful True Binding and ended their suffering by cutting off their lives so they would not have to endure any more pain.
‘Tang Gon is a master of poison, so he must have completed poison resistance. Zhuge Seoun also obtained the Wind Spirit Energy from the Wind God Palace.’
The two of them must not have fallen to the poison energy spread here and had moved to another area.
‘Or they simply haven’t arrived here yet.’
If Tang Gon and the others had arrived here before him?
They would surely have done anything to save the people.
They were probably still wandering the maze or entering through another route.
‘I took a shortcut and came quickly.’
Bu Eunseol had detected the core of the mechanism to quickly find the Vajra Demon Sect and had been sucked into this place. The two were probably breaking through the various traps and mechanisms installed here and advancing forward.
‘In any case, if they are alive, they would inevitably be drawn to this brain-sucking mechanism.’
In the end, the internal mechanisms of the Ten-Thousand-Li Treasure Ship were sieves designed to classify people.
‘Sometimes, waiting quietly is the fastest way.’
However, another unexpected situation occurred.
The red flesh-like wall split open, and bizarre figures wrapped tightly in white cloth poured out. They were dressed similarly to Nahu, the subordinate of the Vajra Demon Ancestor who had visited Majeon before.
‘I see.’
Only then could Bu Eunseol solve another secret of this realm—no, of the Vajra Demon Sect.
The reason why no guards or subordinates were visible even though people were disappearing without a trace… They had all been moving secretly through the insides of the red walls that extended like blood vessels, kidnapping or attacking those who entered the secret realm.
Swish.
The white-masked figures pulled out four-sided blades dripping with liquid from their waists.
They surrounded Bu Eunseol and began swinging the blades.
It was an attack he could have easily dodged outside, but here inside the Blood Life Formation, there was no space to run or evade. Wherever the liquid on the blades touched, the fabric began to melt.
He raised his internal energy and unfolded the Soul-Stealing Bloodless Claw.
Swish!
Every time his fingernails sliced through the air, sharp light pierced the vital points of the white-masked figures.
However, they charged endlessly as if they felt no pain.
Swish! Slash!
He changed his technique to slash their bodies, but they were like those who had trained in the Diamond Indestructible Divine Art.
He had to use full power to cut through their bodies, and even when their limbs were severed, no blood flowed. Even if he somehow cut them down, new white-masked figures were constantly replenished from the walls in equal numbers to those he defeated.
The amount of liquid flowing from the blades also increased.
No matter how many he killed, it was endless. Whenever their numbers decreased, they would swell again to fill half the interior space as if nothing had happened.
‘Pure destructive martial arts won’t work here.’
Endlessly pouring corrosive liquid like poison, the white-masked figures’ special bodies that could not be properly cut, and the continuous stream of troops in a confined space. This situation exceeded the limits of simple violent martial arts.
‘Being captured won’t help either.’
In situations where capture was possible, one might intentionally get caught to infiltrate the enemy’s heart.
But their clear goal was to kill, so now he had to make a decision.
“One thing is certain: they cannot think properly.”
The white-masked figures had clear eyes and precise blade techniques, but their actions were repetitive and showed no adaptability. In other words, they too were merely living mechanisms.
He finally made his decision.
The white-masked figures were not autonomous beings. They were a type of ‘mechanism’ belonging to the Blood Life Formation.
‘That means there is no surveillance.’
A transparent heat, a colorless flame, rose from Bu Eunseol’s body.
He had drawn out the fully matured Yealha Great True Energy with full power.
When he used the Yealha Great True Energy, the masked figures collapsed like logs. He had burned their internal organs in an instant with extreme heat.
However, as soon as he knocked down the masked figures, new ones poured out from the walls to fill the empty space.
Bu Eunseol smiled coldly.
This time, he used the Ban-Geuk Method and Extreme Mind Fire to instantly freeze the blood vessels of the white-masked figures.
But the result was the same.
Even when he used the unified Three Divine Energies in the Endless Heavenly Light Art, it was the same. For every masked figure that was destroyed, exactly that many were replenished.
Clang!
Meanwhile, the masked figures filling the interior began spraying sticky liquid like rain from all sides.
He wanted to destroy the entire interior of the Ten-Thousand-Li Treasure Ship, but he could not do so while people were still trapped inside.
At that moment, a low vibration spread from the walls.
As the masked figures continued to fall, it felt as if the guardian of this place was reacting.
‘Good.’
Instantly, Bu Eunseol’s eyes turned pitch black.
Using the ability of the Poison Sovereign, he planned to absorb the extreme poison they emitted into his body and then release an even stronger poison against it.
But an unexpected situation occurred.
When Bu Eunseol accepted the white liquid they were spraying into his body, the masked figures gradually began to stop attacking.
A flash of realization crossed his mind.
He operated the Ban-Geuk Method and kept the absorbed liquid’s poison energy in his body without converting it into his own qi.
After all, no poison could harm his life.
Then, the masked figures that had been constantly pouring out from the walls also began to retreat.
By holding the same type of poison they sprayed within his body, they stopped attacking as if facing their own kind. The masked figures looked around and then orderly returned into the red flesh walls.
Bu Eunseol let out a rough breath.
‘So this is the true power of the Vajra Demon Sect.’
The Vajra Demon Sect had surpassed the limits of Blood Life Formations that used human blood and flesh as materials. They had created mechanisms inside that were like living organs.
‘In the end, it is not unorthodox methods, but sorcery and grand techniques.’
Because of the information he had obtained earlier, he had thought the Vajra Demon Sect was not as strong as the legends said, but after entering the Ten-Thousand-Li Treasure Ship, he understood why it was considered one of the origins of the demonic path.
‘Even the ancient Blood Life Formations would not have had such abilities.’
The Seven Great Demon Sects truly possessed special powers and authorities that even the Demon Emperor would have to be wary of. When Bu Eunseol unconsciously approached the red wall, a crack appeared in it just like when the masked figures had emerged.
“Since they do not see me as an enemy, does that mean I can move through here?”
After pondering for a moment, he stepped into the massive blood vessel-like flesh wall.
A sensation similar to when he had found the Ten-Thousand-Li Treasure Ship washed over him. At the same time, the previously incomprehensible internal structure of the Ten-Thousand-Li Treasure Ship was drawn clearly in his mind.
‘So it was a death trap to classify and absorb people.’
The interior of the Ten-Thousand-Li Treasure Ship looked like an endless maze spreading out behind it. In reality, it was divided into organs like the inside of a human body, classifying people and absorbing them.
Step. Step.
‘So you have come.’
Inside the red fleshy wall, he sensed two figures rapidly approaching from afar.
It was Tang Gon and Zhuge Seoun.
They had broken through the internal organ traps in the maze and arrived here safely without losing consciousness.
“Uh…”
The moment the two entered, they were greatly shocked.
Seeing the giant tubes and the dead bodies with heads plugged into the tubes, their brains drained and turned into white liquid, they guessed what had happened here.
“It seems someone arrived before us, broke through the traps, and is saving people.”
At Zhuge Seoun’s words, Tang Gon carefully examined the traces around them.
However, he could not guess at all what method the person who arrived first had used.
“I don’t know who it is, but…”
He pointed at the extremely poisonous liquid scattered everywhere.
“That person must be one of the top poison users in the martial world. Perhaps even a Poison Sovereign.”
Even someone who could distinguish and detoxify all the extreme poisons in the world would find it difficult to survive exposure to this level of extreme poison left here, yet the person who arrived first had stirred up the interior and left without being affected by such poison energy.
“Isn’t it a great fortune for the martial world that such a person entered here and saved people?”
At Zhuge Seoun’s words, Tang Gon shook his head.
“There are no good-natured people who have reached the Poison Sovereign realm.”
Most poison users were extremely selfish.
Moreover, because one needed a poisonous heart to reach the pinnacle of poison arts, their personalities inevitably became wicked.
“Including the Hell’s Blood Fortress Lord, Gong Yageuk, none of the absolute poison users who reached the Poison Heart realm would come to a place like this to save people.”
As Zhuge Seoun nodded at Tang Gon’s words, a low vibration occurred, and the red flesh split open again.
Once more, white-masked figures wrapped like mummies poured out.
“Clan Leader, I will block them.”
Zhuge Seoun, who had taken out his official tablet, drew something diligently on the ground and moved with large steps. Blue light rose from the ground, and mysterious formations appeared everywhere, confusing the masked figures.
However, even the Zhuge Clan’s profound directional formation could not hold back the endlessly pouring masked figures. They continuously shot sticky liquid through their blades, instantly melting Zhuge Seoun’s formation.
At this rate, Zhuge Seoun would lose his life in an instant without even being able to resist properly.
“I will help.”
Tang Gon stepped forward and spread both hands.
Hundreds of snake-like shapes appeared behind him, and the bodies of the charging masked figures began to turn black.
He had unfolded one of the Tang Clan’s secret poison arts, the Poison Blood Transformation.
Hiss!
The masked figures emitted black smoke due to the extreme poison and collapsed like logs in an instant.
“Indeed, the Tang Clan’s poison is truly unmatched.”
Zhuge Seoun gave a thumbs up.
But from the split wall, more mummy-like masked figures poured out again.
“Clan Leader, something seems wrong.”
The moment Tang Gon used poison to knock them down, even more masked figures poured out? Tang Gon’s eyes flashed as he began examining the bodies of the fallen masked figures.
But in that moment, the masked figures reached right in front of Tang Gon.
“Be careful!”
Zhuge Seoun drew his official brush from his waist and quickly stabbed at the vital points of the mummy-like masked figures.
However, the masked figures had no vital points.
Moreover, their skin was so thick that even when struck with fierce techniques using the official brush, the weapon bounced back as if hitting elastic rubber.
“Ugh!”
Before long, dozens of masked figures surrounded Zhuge Seoun and slowly tightened the space with crushing pressure.
“Clan Leader! Help me!”
Realization flashed in Tang Gon’s eyes as he examined the bodies of the fallen masked figures.
“Just hold on a little longer!”
Whoosh!
He spun once in the air, landed on the ground, and stretched out both hands.
The extreme poison contained in the liquid the masked figures were spraying was absorbed into his body.
He had used one of the Tang Clan’s secret techniques, the Poison Absorption Method.
The masked figures no longer attacked him and instead turned toward Zhuge Seoun. He too had quickly identified the masked figures’ characteristics like Bu Eunseol and had taken their sprayed liquid into his body.
As the masked figures continued to charge while spraying liquid, Zhuge Seoun created a wall with his official brush to defend against them.
However, this method could not be used indefinitely without infinite internal energy. In the end, as the masked figures kept pouring in endlessly, both his stamina and energy were being depleted.
“Brother Zhuge, from now on I will inject poison energy, so accept it without resistance!”
At that moment, Tang Gon descended from the air and placed his hand on Zhuge Seoun’s vital point. He injected the poison energy he had obtained from the Ghost Poison Heaven into him.
Hiss.
Zhuge Seoun’s skin instantly turned brown.
“Clan Leader, I have not learned poison arts.”
“I injected only a very small amount of poison energy along with the Ghost Poison Heaven’s power. It will not harm your life.”
When the same poison energy radiated from Zhuge Seoun’s body as from the masked figures, they gradually stopped attacking and turned back.
Swish.
They turned around and disappeared back into the flesh walls.
Watching this, Zhuge Seoun wiped his cold sweat and let out a sigh of relief.
“They were not human.”
“It seems so.”
“But how did you know they distinguished allies and enemies by poison energy?”
“While passing through the gates, I felt as if this place was inside someone’s giant body. And when I examined the masked figures’ bodies earlier, I noticed they contained faint poison energy.” Tang Gon said. “Among the chaotic battle, I wondered if it was because of the poison mixed in their bodily fluids that they could accurately distinguish friend from foe without looking. So I tested it.”
“I see.” Zhuge Seoun had an impressed expression. “It seems the Clan Leader has regained the time that was lost.”
The lost time.
At those words, Tang Gon’s expression became solemn.
The Sichuan Tang Clan was the great sect of hidden weapons and poison.
But they had been satisfied with their position as one of the Eight Great Clans, and as a result, their development had stagnated for a long time.
Fortunately, an outstanding figure named Tang Pae appeared, and thanks to his efforts, Tang Gon had once again dramatically advanced the Tang Clan’s martial arts in line with the brilliant development of the martial world.
However, because the stagnation period had been so long, they had not yet reached the level of the current supreme masters of the martial world.
“It is still not enough.”
Those were Tang Gon’s honest feelings.
“It was far too long a time.”
If someone else had said this, he would have been greatly offended, but in truth, the Zhuge Clan had also suffered from the same lost time.
Because they had expanded their power through connections with numerous factions like government officials, their martial arts could no longer develop. Even the pinnacle of the Zhuge Clan’s formation techniques, the Heavenly Fate Maze Formation, had been lost.
The Tang Clan and the Zhuge Clan both refrained from martial world activities and cleanly managed their clan affairs, so this reality was not well known, but, they were somewhat lacking to stand shoulder to shoulder with the current top supreme masters who had achieved dazzling development.
“I spoke out of turn.”
Zhuge Seoun quickly changed the subject when he saw Tang Gon’s poor expression.
“By the way, it is amazing that you found such a point from the masked figures’ corpses.”
“Actually, this is not my method, but one my close friend enjoys using.”
When Tang Gon showed a proud expression, Zhuge Seoun tilted his head.
The Tang Clan Leader, Tang Gon, had always stayed indoors and did not engage in martial world activities, so he had few connections with other martial world figures.
Who could be the close friend he spoke of with such respect?
“Just who is—”
Unable to contain his curiosity, Zhuge Seoun was about to speak when—
Crack. Thud. Thud.
The wall split wide open, and a dry old man appeared.
Although his steps were light, continuous heavy thuds could be heard.
“Sea Step Sound.”
Tang Gon’s eyes shook greatly as he looked at the old man.
When one reached the highest realm of poison arts, the poison energy within the body was compressed to an unimaginable density, gaining a powerful mass different from physical weight. Therefore, when stepping, the ultra-high-density poison waves pressed down on the space of the ground first.
In other words, the powerful poison energy pressed down on the earth and space, creating shockwaves that produced the sound of a giant taking steps.
The old man slowly raised his index finger.
A black vortex began to swirl there, and a destructive sound that shook the interior rang out.
Life and Death Poison Line.
When one reached the highest realm of the Poison Sovereign, the condensed essence of poison boiled within the body and had to be endlessly suppressed with internal energy. When an enemy appeared, spreading the essence of poison outward turned it into waves that destroyed anything it touched. This was called the Life and Death Poison.
‘We’re going to die.’
Despair filled the eyes of Tang Gon and Zhuge Seoun.
The Life and Death Poison, which only the Poison Flame Poison Emperor, called the ruler of poison, was said to use, was now spreading from the fingertips of this suddenly appearing old man.
The moment the pitch-black wave of death was about to engulf them—
Boom! Crackle!
Suddenly, a gray shadow appeared before them and began creating five-colored currents.
With a loud roar, a pillar of light intertwining pitch-black and five-colored lights pushed against each other.
Crash!
Finally, the two colliding lights shattered into pieces, leaving a faint haze in their place.
It was Bu Eunseol, who had reversed the flow using the Myriad Gold Blood Hand.
“You are…”
Tang Gon opened his mouth in shock.
How could this man, called the Death Severing Elder of the Black Path, block the Life and Death Poison that only the ruler of poison could emit?
“Gather your internal energy and resist the poison.”
Bu Eunseol said coldly without even turning his head.
“Otherwise, you will die.”
Whoosh.
As soon as those words ended, the sleeves of Tang Gon and Zhuge Seoun began to melt like water.
The aftermath of the Life and Death Poison had begun melting their clothes themselves.
“But if you survive—”
Bu Eunseol slightly turned his head, the corners of his mouth rising.
“The Tang Clan will be able to regain everything it has lost.”
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