Bu Eunseol clenched his fists tightly. He had been researching 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.
Tang Cheong tilted her head at an angle upon spotting Tang Gon and Bu Eunseol.
It was as if her expression asked, ‘How did you get here completely fine?’
“Cheong-ah!”
Tang Gon unfolded his movement technique and immediately rushed toward where Tang Cheong was.
Watching him, Tang Cheong snapped her fingers with a sharp sound.
Crack.
The blood cave disappeared, and a structure resembling a honeycomb unfolded. Every time one entered those spaces, they were filled with suffocating fog and hot steam.
Huff. Hiss.
Breathing sounds echoed periodically, and each time, strong winds blew and the internal pressure changed.
“Cough, cough.”
Zhuge Seoun, whose internal energy was relatively weak, started coughing first.
As if waiting for that moment,
Hiss. Whoosh.
Along with a loud breathing sound, the steam fog in front of them parted, and a streak of fog condensed to form a single shape.
Step. Step.
It was an old man whose entire body was covered in damp white energy. His skin was so thin and membrane-like that his blood vessels were visible beneath it, giving him a bizarre appearance.
“I will handle this.”
Zhuge Seoun swung his official brush.
As he executed his opening moves, the fog grew thicker and it felt as if the air inside was gradually being drained.
Swish! Swish!
Zhuge Seoun precisely wielded his official brush, fiercely attacking the old man’s vital points.
His official brush was made of black iron. When infused with internal energy, it could pierce even a two-inch-thick iron plate.
Thud!
Nevertheless, the official brush bounced off before even touching the old man’s body.
“Brother Zhuge, step back.”
At those words, Zhuge Seoun hurriedly retreated.
With Tang Cheong missing, Tang Gon’s heart grew urgent. Without hesitation, he used the Poison Elimination Palm with his left hand and the Tang Clan’s Pear Blossom Heavenly Star Palm with his right.
However, around the old man’s body, it felt as if elastic transparent rubber had been spread out. There was only a rebounding sensation, with no damage inflicted at all.
Tang Gon’s eyes flashed.
Thanks to Bu Eunseol previously, his internal energy had greatly increased and he had even learned the Single White Poison Lotus. Although he had not yet unfolded the Tang Clan’s secret ultimate arts, to receive no damage at all?
‘Is it a matter of proficiency?’
Facing the old man’s terrifying skill, his impatience vanished and cold composure returned.
Tang Gon had only recently restored the Tang Clan’s martial arts. However, since he had not yet fully mastered them, he had not reached the level where he could face the current top supreme masters.
In the meantime, Zhuge Seoun coughed again.
The fog permeating the area was not poisonous, but it had the property of causing strange spasms in the bronchial tubes. As time passed, even breathing became difficult. If this continued, just standing there would make him suffocate to death.
“Step back.”
At that moment, along with a low voice,
Swish!
A sharp energy poured out. With a heavy impact sound, the old man who had been standing tall was pushed back about eight steps. At the same time, a gray figure stepped in front of Tang Gon.
It was Bu Eunseol.
“He is using the Buddha Heart Mind technique of the Fire Demon Monk.”
He had once uncovered the fact that the Returning to One Realm was reviving masters of previous generations. Since then, he had studied and memorized the martial arts and techniques of those history-making experts one by one. He never knew when, where, or from which era a master might appear.
Martial artists thought Bu Eunseol advanced so smoothly simply because of his outstanding talent. In reality, he lived every day preparing himself so that he would never make a single mistake and could survive even in the worst situations.
“Cover your ears.”
At Bu Eunseol’s shout, Zhuge Seoun widened his eyes.
Grrrrrr.
A vibration so low it could not be considered a human sound spread from both of Bu Eunseol’s hands. The old man’s wriggling, whose skin was transparent enough to show blood vessels, suddenly stopped.
Then, thick liquid began flowing out from his body.
Bu Eunseol had unfolded the Heavenly Tyrant Force Art from the Blood Sound Demon Scripture—the technique that allowed the demons trapped in the Blood Sound Forest’s scales to continuously emit powerful vibrations.
He had used it to relentlessly vibrate the old man’s body.
Every time the vibration spread, strange substances were being expelled from inside the old man’s transparent-skinned body.
Bubble. Bubble.
Bu Eunseol had seen through the fact that the old man’s Fire Demon Monk Buddha Heart Mind technique resonated with the surrounding air and energy to absorb, disperse, and reverse external martial arts. By using the Heavenly Tyrant Force, he had forcibly returned the old man’s own technique against him.
In the end, the old man spat out a strange medium from his mouth. His body shriveled, and he exhaled a round bead from his mouth before stopping breathing.
It was the Star Fire Pearl, containing the energy of fire.
“Amazing.” Zhuge Seoun approached, unable to hide his admiration. “That old man was truly powerful, yet you defeated him in an instant.”
“What does it mean to be strong?”
At the cold question, Zhuge Seoun was at a loss for words.
“If you had properly utilized even one of insight and observation, you would have found a way to defeat that old man.”
Bu Eunseol’s gaze seemed to pierce through Zhuge Seoun’s inner thoughts.
“However, you became drunk on the shallow internal energy you gained before and grew arrogant. You only stubbornly insisted on your specialty, the official brush technique. When your attack was blocked, you immediately assumed it was a superior opponent and retreated without looking back at Tang Gon’s shout.”
The continuing voice was extremely strict.
“You did not even try to understand why the old man used that technique or what the true nature of that bizarre method was.”
“It is not because I was scared.” Zhuge Seoun protested as if feeling wronged. “He really was strong, wasn’t he? I simply judged that he was an expert I could not handle.”
“Strong?”
Bu Eunseol’s voice became as cold as ice.
“What exactly was strong? Because my attack did not work? Anyone who wishes to master martial arts must first break fixed ideas before reaching the ultimate realm.”
What Bu Eunseol explained was the principle of supreme martial arts. It meant that only by removing all preconceptions arising from visible phenomena, experience-based prejudices, and hasty judgments that divide strong from weak could one see the true essence of things.
“If you cannot do that, then maintain a state of no-mind.”
Zhuge Seoun muttered with a stunned expression. Breaking the framework of perception and gaining deep insight and mental flexibility to see the essence was extremely difficult.
“Then the only way is to embrace the essence by breaking the body of perception through the method of no-mind.”
“Thank you.”
Having finally gained enlightenment, Zhuge Seoun brought his hands together.
“For enlightening me.”
He had the potential to develop greatly in the future. It was simply that due to the Zhuge Clan’s rigid teachings and lack of experience, he had not yet broken through his hard shell.
Instead of answering, Bu Eunseol made a clicking sound and turned his body.
“Let us go.”
He walked forward.
In that moment, Zhuge Seoun felt that Bu Eunseol’s back overlapped with someone else’s.
‘Could it be…’
Only then did he realize that the expert wearing the mask of the left hand user possessed transcendent wisdom and insight and had reached the ultimate realm—touching the same level as his own idol. Clenching his fists tightly to suppress his pounding heart, Zhuge Seoun followed Bu Eunseol without hesitation.
After that, they encountered numerous organs.
Most of the organ surfaces were tangled with blood vessels and muscles, writhing continuously. Sometimes, faint faces or limbs of absorbed victims would appear and sink repeatedly. There were also places emitting such powerful shockwaves that approach was impossible, or filled with heat and pressure that seemed capable of melting anything that came near.
Finally, after dealing with the heart area made of unidentified bodily fluids and flesh, a structure resembling a giant bundle of nerves came into view. Thousands upon thousands of large and small eyeballs were embedded in it, constantly rolling or blinking as if monitoring all directions.
Those countless eyeballs could have been taken from victims, or they could be manifestations of the Vajra Demon Sect’s will.
Zhuge Seoun made a cold expression, then smiled brightly.
“What a beautifully horrifying structure.”
From the center of the tower made of eyeballs, powerful waves were flowing out. However, the two seemed unaware as they smiled while looking at the tower.
“I see. It is completely different from how it looks.”
Tang Gon’s martial prowess had risen dramatically. Moreover, thanks to Bu Eunseol in the past, he had realized how important mental barriers were and had fortified them extremely solidly.
But the waves coming from here were not attacking the mind. Instead, they brought extreme comfort and relaxation, making them impossible to reject.
“I think I can be satisfied with coming this far.”
Zhuge Seoun nodded as he looked at the tower.
“With my ability, I probably would not have been able to reach even this point anyway.”
The waves from the tower led them into sweet and hopeful imaginations, inflating their sense of accomplishment. As comfort and abundance filled their hearts, their will to break through the Ten-Thousand-Li Treasure Ship’s gates was ultimately broken.
“I have gained enough experience and enlightenment from this place.”
At Zhuge Seoun’s words, Tang Gon also nodded.
“Anyway, Cheong-ah is a child with excellent intelligence and martial arts. She will take care of herself and return safely.”
He shook his head and laughed.
“I tend to treat Cheong-ah like a child too much. She will do well on her own.”
While the two were talking hopefully, Bu Eunseol silently stared at the tower covered in thousands of eyes.
Until now, he had never dreamed of a comfortable and abundant life, nor had he made hopeful predictions. The world had never once allowed anything easily.
One always had to struggle until the end to obtain anything. That was why such traps did not work on him at all.
He calmly observed the tower.
It had a complex and bizarre brain-fold shape with eyeballs attached, and sticky nerve-transmitting liquid-like fluid flowed from the gaps. The masked figures that had always appeared before were nowhere to be seen. Only waves that seemed to caress the soul came flooding in.
‘It is an unavoidable trap.’
Humans instinctively cannot reject waves that bring happiness and hope. Moreover, if one blamed or criticized others who fell into this happiness, it would only backfire. In other words, this state could not be escaped with outside help. One could only awaken through their own power.
“Clan Leader Tang was toyed with by the Three Realms, but he disregarded even his own life to break free from those restrictions.”
Bu Eunseol muttered as he looked at Tang Gon, who was about to leave this place.
“But he has failed in raising his child.”
He walked forward with steady steps.
In that instant, Tang Gon’s expression hardened.
His father, Tang Pae, had been toyed with by the Three Realms.
If he had only thought of his own safety, he would have cooperated with the Three Realms and continued living. However, believing that Tang Gon would do better than him, he rejected their cooperation and ended his remaining life without regrets. Especially when considering the will that valued caring for those around him more than the clan’s revival.
He absolutely could not turn a blind eye to Tang Cheong trapped here.
But, because of the waves spreading from the tower, his body would not listen.
In the end, Tang Gon closed his eyes and tried to purify his mind.
Although he could not immediately block the waves, he was trying to calm his mind through meditation and break free from the restraint.
“Clan Leader, are you not going?”
At that moment, Zhuge Seoun spoke with unfocused eyes.
“Or should I go alone…”
“The Zhuge Clan has not produced a single proper person who walked the martial world for over two hundred years.”
At that moment, Bu Eunseol looked at Zhuge Seoun with a sneer.
“I thought a proper person had finally emerged for once, but in the end, you are just like the cowards of the Zhuge Clan who have been passed down through generations.”
In that instant, Zhuge Seoun’s eyes changed.
The Zhuge Clan was originally a clan of both literary and martial excellence.
It was a place that dominated the martial world not only with outstanding intelligence but also through martial arts based on the movement of heavenly mechanisms. However, that very outstanding intelligence and profound formation knowledge eventually became the problem.
As time passed, the members of the Zhuge Clan began to look down on the world with their superior intellect. Instead of risking their lives to train in martial arts or walk the martial world, they placed clan members in key positions of the Martial Alliance and strengthened cooperation with other sects to build power.
While other clans fiercely trained in martial arts or walked the martial world, the Zhuge Clan merely studied academics and formations elegantly and focused only on expanding their influence.
As this repeated, the clan’s prestige gradually declined, and even their reputation in formations was overtaken by the Gongsun Clan, which was not even a martial clan.
“Are you saying that while knowing the situation of our clan?” Zhuge Seoun became angry. “Do you think it is easy to break the long-standing atmosphere and rules of our main house that have continued for hundreds of years?”
“Who said it was easy?” Bu Eunseol raised the corners of his mouth. “The members of the Zhuge Clan have simply all chosen the easy path.”
He passed by Zhuge Seoun and headed toward the opposite passage.
Feeling insulted, Zhuge Seoun eventually gained realization and sat down to meditate.
He realized that his body was not listening because of the energy from the tower and was trying to resist it like Tang Gon.
Bu Eunseol glanced at the sight and nodded.
If they could resist that wave, their minds would become even stronger.
When they finally reached the end of the passage, there was a large iron door.
Creak.
When they opened the door and entered, the large blood cave where they had seen Tang Cheong before came into view.
As Bu Eunseol looked around while lifting his head, he could not help but hold his breath.
In the blood cave so high that the ceiling was invisible, transparent crystal tubes were embedded in a massive spiral. It looked like a giant spiral staircase stretching from the mouth of hell to the top.
Inside each section forming the staircase stood martial artists with their eyes closed. They did not move at all, but had vivid complexions and wore spotlessly clean clothes. Their faces had healthy color, and not a single speck of dust marred their attire.
They were clearly living people.
“You have broken through all the gates.”
At the center of the blood cave, a platform had been built, upon which a splendid throne was placed. Sitting sideways on that chair was a beautiful woman with sparkling purple eyes.
The woman called the greatest beauty of Sichuan was sitting boldly in the center as if she were the owner of this place.
“Impressive.”
The first voice that came out sounded bright and beautiful like Tang Cheong’s, but soon changed into a horrifying voice as if thousands of tongues were murmuring at once from a graveyard thousands of years old.
“Not a single person has reached this place with a sound mind.”
In that instant, Bu Eunseol’s eyes changed.
The Ten-Thousand-Li Treasure Ship was a bizarre secret realm not recorded in martial history.
But judging from Tang Cheong—no, the Vajra Demon Ancestor—it had clearly appeared in the martial world in different forms countless times.
The Vajra Demon Ancestor, smiling, walked gracefully toward Bu Eunseol. She wore clothes embroidered with splendid patterns, clearly revealing her voluptuous figure. The side slits were high, so with every step, her smooth thighs were faintly revealed.
It was an irresistibly beautiful appearance, but because of the bizarre voice, even that appearance felt terrifying.
“Are you the Vajra Demon Ancestor itself?”
“That is correct.”
Purple light continuously flashed in her eyes. It was as if she was calculating and measuring something.
“You used a disguise.”
With the level of skill known to the public for the left hand user, it would be impossible to reach this place even if he died and came back to life.
Swish.
Instead of answering, Bu Eunseol returned to his original appearance.
After all, he had decided to bring the Vajra Demon Ancestor’s core to the Demon Emperor.
“Martial Soul Command Lord.”
Tang Cheong laughed softly.
“So you really are the most handsome man under heaven.”
“Why exactly are you doing this?”
“This?”
She approached behind Bu Eunseol and whispered.
“If you knew what kind of place this is, you would not say such things.”
Twirl.
The Vajra Demon Ancestor spun once, her eyes curving like crescent moons as she spoke.
“You should be rejoicing. Because you have gained the qualification to stay by my side.”
When Bu Eunseol frowned,
“It seems my voice was unpleasant.”
The Vajra Demon Sect smiled charmingly and changed her voice to one that was bright and beautiful.
“How is it? Is this voice satisfactory now?”
‘Was she originally a woman?’
Because her name was the Vajra Demon Ancestor, he had naturally imagined a giant, Maitreya-like great demon. But the Vajra Demon Ancestor controlling Tang Cheong’s body displayed an even more feminine and seductive appearance than the original woman.
“People talk about restraint and the illusory world, but none of it can compare to the flower garden where I reign as a god. Because no one can ever touch it.”
It would have been better when she spoke with the voice of thousands of moving tongues.
Controlling Tang Cheong’s body and speaking in an even more tickling voice made Bu Eunseol feel like vomiting.
But he needed information.
He had expected that encountering the Vajra Demon Ancestor would immediately lead to a fight that would shake heaven and earth. However, she was unexpectedly continuing the conversation. For Bu Eunseol, who needed to obtain even a single piece of information, this was not a bad situation at all.
“So you have been living by draining their nutrients.”
“It is not draining nutrients.”
The Vajra Demon Sect pointed at her head with a finger.
“Everything humans feel is handled here.”
When Bu Eunseol looked doubtful, she smiled and clapped both palms together.
Suddenly, the surrounding environment changed instantly, transforming into the scenery of a banquet hall filled with delicacies from land and sea. The Vajra Demon Sect poured wine into a golden cup and offered it to Bu Eunseol.
“Drink it. You will not feel any difference from reality.”
When Bu Eunseol did not drink, the Vajra Demon Sect brought the cup she was holding to her own lips.
The moment her red lips touched the cup, a rich aroma tickled his nose.
As she drank the wine while staring intently at Bu Eunseol, her eyes were far more seductive than those of the original Tang Cheong.
“If you stay here, you can have everything in the world.”
She pointed at her own temple with a finger.
“Because if humans satisfy only this place, everything is resolved.”
So that was it.
Only now was the secret of the Ten-Thousand-Li Treasure Ship revealed.
The Vajra Demon Ancestor.
Using bizarre sorcery, she was using martial artists as nutrients and creating substances that controlled the brain.
“What happened to your subordinates?”
The Vajra Demon Sect had a subordinate named Nahu who held the position of Heavenly Scribe.
If she created a position like Heavenly Scribe, she must have had numerous subordinates at the level of an alliance. How could she leave them and stay here alone?
To create something like this, weren’t materials necessary?
The answer came immediately.
The Vajra Demon Sect had sacrificed all her subordinates to complete the Ten-Thousand-Li Treasure Ship. The reason its scale had grown larger and larger was probably because greedy martial artists had gradually become its nutrients.
“Subordinates can be replenished anytime.”
“Why did you suddenly create the Ten-Thousand-Li Treasure Ship in the martial world?” Bu Eunseol asked. “You had never done something like this before.”
“It could be said that it is because of you.”
She shook her head.
“I am the great master of grand techniques. Unlike you all, I have not specialized in training martial arts.”
Bu Eunseol had cut off Nahu’s arm—the one who had reversed the White Horse Temple—in an instant. In the end, the Vajra Demon Sect realized that the current level of martial arts in the martial world was incomparably high and created the Ten-Thousand-Li Treasure Ship.
“Can this raise your martial prowess?”
“Hohoho.”
The Vajra Demon Sect smiled with a laughter like the precursor to destruction.
“The world is soon heading toward the end. Is there any need to raise mere martial prowess?”
She spread both arms.
“This place is a location to awaken a new body.”
“A new body?”
“You must have heard it from the Demon Emperor. That the deer of reincarnation that the True Demon possesses has been severed.”
Strange words.
The information that the deer of reincarnation had been severed was something Bu Eunseol had found out himself, not something the Demon Emperor had told him.
Yet why was she so certain that the Demon Emperor had said such a thing?
“Do you know why the deer of reincarnation was severed?”
“Because he became such a powerful being.”
“Hohoho. It seems you have heard that he is no longer an existence that can be contained in a human body.”
The Vajra Demon Sect narrowed her eyes like crescent moons.
“But that is a wrong story.”
An even more shocking statement flowed from her mouth.
“The True Demon discarded the chains of reincarnation himself.”
A deep furrow formed between Bu Eunseol’s brows.
The True Demon was able to become the existence known as the True Demon because he possessed the chains of reincarnation. He could reign above the laws of the world.
Yet he had thrown them away himself?
“Why?”
The Vajra Demon Sect changed the subject. “However, after the existence known as the True Demon became known to the world, countless people who worshipped him, opposed him, or coveted his power appeared. It was not that the True Demon grew stronger and developed. A few forces, including myself, discovered a way to steal the chains of reincarnation that the True Demon possesses.”
It was a shocking statement.
Bu Eunseol had naturally thought that the chains of reincarnation the True Demon possessed were a heavenly ability inherently belonging to him.
Yet others could steal it?
“So the Ten-Thousand-Li Treasure Ship is a place to steal the True Demon’s power?”
Instead of answering, the Vajra Demon Sect raised the corners of her mouth.
In the end, the purpose was clear.
Creating this moving secret realm and luring martial artists to drain their nutrients… it had all been for the purpose of stealing the True Demon’s power.
“Give me the wisdom and truth that cannot be opened even after devoting an entire lifetime.”
A mysterious light changed in the Vajra Demon Sect’s eyes.
“I will tell you everything—civilization, fate, the divine—and cut off all things that bind you.”
The Vajra Demon Sect’s voice created a great resonance inside Bu Eunseol’s mind.
“Take my hand. If you do, you will become an eternal observer who witnesses both the beginning and the end simultaneously…”
She offered a proposal that Bu Eunseol could not refuse.
“And you will gain the opportunity to correct the regrets and mistakes of the past.”
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