—Everything is my fault.
Though he had never shown it on the outside, deep within Bu Eunseol’s heart there had always lingered a profound sense of loss and guilt. No matter how desperately he had struggled to live on, there was one unchangeable truth.
The dead… can never be brought back to life.
—You will gain the chance to correct the regrets and mistakes of the past.
The Vajra Demon Ancestor spoke as if she had become a god. As one of the Seven Great Demon Lords said to possess the origin of the demonic path, perhaps she truly could resurrect the dead?
‘There’s no way.’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes grew endlessly desolate.
—Drink it. You won’t feel any difference from reality.
Just moments ago, the Vajra Demon Ancestor had shown him an illusion far clearer and more vivid than reality. In fact, everything had felt so real that he couldn’t even tell it was an illusion from the start. All the proposals and temptations she offered had only ever occurred inside his head.
“Exactly right.”
Having read Bu Eunseol’s inner thoughts, the Vajra Demon Ancestor extended a hand and spoke.
“As long as this lord exists, you can live forever. You can become anything you desire, holding all the wealth and glory a human could enjoy in the palm of your hand.”
Paah!
Suddenly, the surrounding scenery changed again.
Inside a massive palace hall, countless officials prostrated themselves, not even daring to breathe. Before them sat Bu Eunseol on the throne, wearing a dragon robe embroidered with golden thread, gazing down at them indifferently.
Yet his eyes, looking down upon his subjects from the throne, were endlessly apathetic and instead appeared profoundly lonely.
“Is the emperor too cliché?”
A low vibration rang out.
This time, he appeared as a feudal lord commanding hundreds of thousands of troops and countless beautiful women. Bu Eunseol’s expression remained unchanged.
“Speak of any life you desire. I will let you dream sweet dreams forever without having to shed blood and fight the world.” The Vajra Demon Ancestor said. “I swear on this lord’s honor that it will be no different from reality.”
It was an offer no one could easily refuse. Just as she claimed, the illusions before their eyes were more vivid than reality itself. If one could enjoy pleasure and happiness indistinguishable from reality here, and obtain everything one desired?
It would be no different from becoming a god-like being.
“Even if it’s only a fleeting dream?”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes, staring into empty space, became endlessly silent. Then he poured out his inner energy with all his might.
Bang!
At the same time as an earth-shaking explosion, the interior shook violently, and clouds of dust began to rise. Pushing through the gray dust, Bu Eunseol saw a bizarre mass resembling countless tangled nerves rising before him.
Large and small eyeballs. Thick neural fibers were tangled together into pillars embedded with tens of thousands of eyes.
In the distance, he could see Tang Gon and Zhuge Seoun. They were still seated in meditation, resisting the waves of happiness and hope that tried to burrow into their minds.
From the moment they entered the area where the tower was visible, everything had been an illusion.
Gurgle, gurgle.
The only difference now was that the tens of thousands of eyes no longer rolled around randomly in all directions. All the eyeballs seemed to have become one giant will, simultaneously focusing on Bu Eunseol.
To drag him into the illusion, the tens of thousands of eyes were exerting their full power to spray a strange substance.
“It must be a hallucinogenic substance secreted by the brain. Since it occurs naturally in the brain, it would be impossible to block completely.” Bu Eunseol said as he looked up at the grotesque mass.
“To create this mass, you lured three types of martial artists and extracted their nutrients.”
The Vajra Demon Ancestor standing before the tower smiled and clapped.
“You really are smart.”
It was exactly as he said.
Martial artists all cultivated inner energy and repeatedly practiced meditation and ascetic contemplation. During the process of extreme mental focus, meditation, contemplation, and energy circulation, condensed forms of will were created.
“They call it essence.”
She shrugged her shoulders.
“It can only be extracted from the brains of those who have reached the pinnacle of martial arts.”
The Vajra Demon Ancestor looked around and said, “When sprayed in gaseous form, it stimulates specific parts of the brain and shows illusions indistinguishable from reality.”
The Vajra Demon Ancestor licked her lips as if thinking of delicious food. Seeing this, Bu Eunseol realized something and let out a sigh.
“The Ten-Thousand-Li Treasure Ship was a place to steal the power of the True Demon.”
“How could it be only this lord?” The Vajra Demon Ancestor chuckled. “Forces prepared to steal the Reincarnation Chain are constantly pursuing him.”
She licked her red tongue.
“In the end, the True Demon is no different from the most precious treasure in the world.”
Bu Eunseol let out a deep breath.
It was said that the True Demon wandered the world having lost his memories. That meant all the great knowledge he had accumulated over generations had vanished. The hidden forces of the martial world, including the Three Realms, were eagerly watching for an opportunity to find such a True Demon and seize his power.
The Reincarnation Chain.
Obtaining it would essentially make one an immortal being. One could endlessly pursue truth and reach a god-like realm.
After all, the True Demon himself had repeatedly reincarnated and mastered transcendent ancient secrets and arts.
“So you tried to recruit me by spouting all that nonsense for so long.”
Bu Eunseol’s mother’s power had been too strong.
The Baekri family and the True Demon family had divided that power between the two children. Similarly, the Vajra Demon Ancestor had judged that she could not absorb the True Demon’s power alone and had been searching for a being with both body and mind capable of sharing that power.
“Correct.”
The Vajra Demon Ancestor clicked her tongue.
“But you are too dangerous. Unfortunately, this is as far as it goes.”
When she exerted her power, Bu Eunseol’s body sank endlessly downward through the ground. As he descended deeper, the pressure on his body increased exponentially. Finally, a lake of boiling lava came into view.
Even from a distance, the intense heat seemed ready to sear his skin instantly.
Splash.
In the end, Bu Eunseol fell into the sea of lava.
Shuuk!
The Vajra Demon Ancestor exerted her power again. Bu Eunseol’s body, which had been embedded thousands of feet deep, shot back up to the surface.
Yet he was completely unharmed, without a single wound.
The Vajra Demon Ancestor widened her eyes in disbelief.
The mental illusion created using brain-secreted substances showed illusions indistinguishable from reality. Because it directly stimulated the brain, it was no different from actually experiencing it. How could his body remain unscathed?
“Does the mental illusion not work?”
A strange brilliance flowed from the Vajra Demon Ancestor’s purple eyes.
“There’s no way.”
The stronger one’s martial arts, the stronger their mental fortitude became. But paradoxically, a powerful and deep inner world was like fertile soil where mental illusions could take deep root.
In other words, the stronger one’s martial arts, the greater the suppressed emotions they carried, making it impossible to escape the mental illusion.
Bu Eunseol gazed into empty space with a calm yet pained expression.
“My life has been like a dream.”
After his grandfather’s death, he had lived each day in agony. Even amid suffering and adversity, he had deeply contemplated the essence of existence.
“Life is empty and fleeting, full of pain, yet…”
The faces of countless friends he had met in the martial world flashed through his eyes.
“Sometimes beautiful, sometimes warm, and ultimately unforgettable.”
Blood, pain, grief, and sorrow.
Joy, ecstasy, peace, and hope.
Even amid these conflicting emotions, life shone in every moment, and hope never ceased.
Bu Eunseol had realized the state of impermanence—that life was like a fleeting dream.
No matter how elaborate the illusions created, they were merely extensions of the ‘fleeting dream’ he already felt every day. That was why the mental illusion had no effect on him.
“You mean you have already experienced every kind of mental and physical pain, or have come to accept pain as part of daily life?”
The Vajra Demon Ancestor finally realized what kind of inner state Bu Eunseol possessed.
In short, every single day he constantly confronted and fought against the inner demons lurking deep within his mind. The fact that he had not gone mad despite this meant he had either accepted those inner demons or transcended them.
“A young practitioner of the demonic path possessing a mental state like a high monk of Buddhism?”
Instead of answering, Bu Eunseol drew his Silent Tiger Soul Sword and unleashed a lightning-fast sword strike. The Vajra Demon Ancestor standing right in front of him vanished, and the surrounding scenery twisted slightly.
In reality, the Vajra Demon Ancestor was standing much farther behind where Bu Eunseol was. But because it deceived the brain instantly, even his super senses could not detect it. Sparks flew as a deep line was carved into the ground beneath the Vajra Demon Ancestor’s feet.
The Vajra Demon Ancestor was greatly shocked and unleashed another mental illusion… but the illusion could no longer deceive his brain.
Paah!
The retreating Vajra Demon Ancestor poured even stronger mental illusions to neutralize Bu Eunseol’s attacks.
But it was no longer effective.
Eventually, small wounds began to appear one by one on the Vajra Demon Ancestor’s body.
“Natural Qi?”
Only then did the Vajra Demon Ancestor realize that the energy Bu Eunseol was releasing contained the pure power of nature itself.
The Vajra Demon Ancestor shouted, unable to contain her bewilderment.
“You’re not a disciple of the demonic path, but of the Daoist path?”
It was understandable to think so.
The Endless Heavenly Light Art.
The power of natural energy created by the unity of the Three Divine Energies could even momentarily sever the connection between mind and body within the mental world. Even if it could deceive Bu Eunseol’s brain, the weapon imbued with the power of the Three Divine Energies accurately captured the Vajra Demon Ancestor’s physical body.
The Vajra Demon Ancestor, who had stopped spraying the mental illusion, sensed the true waves flowing from Bu Eunseol’s body and widened her eyes.
“The Four Divine Energies?”
Having detected the Three Divine Energies contained within the Endless Heavenly Light Art, the Vajra Demon Ancestor shouted loudly.
“You are the disciple of the Demon Emperor!”
A holy light flashed in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
The disciple of the Demon Emperor had only ever been rumored and had never appeared in the martial world. Yet upon sensing the waves of the Endless Heavenly Light Art, he suddenly became convinced that Bu Eunseol was the disciple of the Demon Emperor?
“You used that Earth Divine Energy to break this lord’s secret treasure!”
Bu Eunseol made a dazed expression as if he had been hit on the back of the head.
‘The disciple of the Demon Emperor uses Earth Divine Energy? Then does that mean the one who took the sacred artifact of the Yona tribe from Cheonchuk was the Demon Emperor?’
‘No, the timing doesn’t match.’
Perhaps he had found the lost Earth Divine Energy, or perhaps he had coincidentally obtained the sacred artifact of the Yona people.
What was certain was that if the Demon Emperor possessed the Earth Divine Energy, mastering it would become nearly impossible.
At that moment, the Vajra Demon Ancestor spread her fingers.
Tak, tak, tak.
Over fifty figures appeared one after another, falling to the ground and forming a circular encirclement around Bu Eunseol.
The one standing at the front was Baek Ok-sim, known as the Ghost Spear for his single spear in the western region. Though he had earned a nickname and some fame, he was not actually that great a master.
However, the powerful energy spreading around his body suggested that the Vajra Demon Ancestor had taken quite a liking to his physique and had greatly increased her power through secret arts and refinement.
“He’s nothing but a tool.”
Forcibly enhancing one’s power this way would ultimately consume a great deal of life force. But from the Vajra Demon Ancestor’s perspective, it was just a useful tool, so it didn’t matter.
“I acknowledge that your martial arts are high.”
The Vajra Demon Ancestor curled the corners of her lips.
“But this lord is the supreme master of great demonic arts, not of orthodox martial arts.”
Realizing she could not defeat Bu Eunseol with pure martial skill, she released martial artists who had learned her wicked great arts.
Saaaa.
White mist rose from Bu Eunseol’s sword. The dozen or so martial artists standing at the front staggered, then collapsed like wooden logs in an instant.
The Tenth form of the Supreme Heavenly Flow.
It was the ultimate form of the Natural Sword, returning everything to its natural state—the Martial Mist and Waves Form.
Endlessly spreading pure white mist caused the martial artists to fall like reeds. Since he had not yet perfectly realized the mysteries of the Natural Sword, he chose to condense and release extremely pure and refined natural energy using the Three Divine Energies within his body.
That was why the Martial Mist and Waves Form always appeared to spread white mist.
If he fully realized the mysteries of the Natural Sword or incorporated the Four Divine Energies, such visual effects like mist would no longer appear.
“What is this technique?”
The Vajra Demon Ancestor let out a cry of dismay.
Those who had mastered natural energy maps were extremely rare in the world. There had never been anyone who could pour out currents of natural energy to destroy supernatural powers or great demonic arts. Moreover, this technique consumed an extreme amount of internal energy.
However, Bu Eunseol’s internal energy had already reached a level that transcended common sense, so he could unleash the Martial Mist and Waves Form for half a day without any strain.
A faint convulsion ran through the Vajra Demon Ancestor’s body as she tried to unleash another great art. The continuously spreading Martial Mist and Waves Form was on the verge of severing the mental connection linked to Tang Cheong’s body.
The ground shook.
The mass made of eyeballs remained, but the surrounding scenery transformed into an enormously high blood cave whose ceiling could not be seen.
Transparent crystal tubes were embedded in a massive vortex.
It turned out that the mass made of eyeballs was located in the same space as the blood cave where he had first encountered Tang Cheong.
Flash.
Light flowed from the transparent glass tubes set up inside the blood cave.
The Vajra Demon Ancestor, who was using Tang Cheong’s body, spoke coldly.
“This was the true purpose of this blood cave.”
The glass plates suddenly turned toward Bu Eunseol and began emitting mysterious light. This blood cave was an apparatus that continuously fired mental illusions to control the brain and create hallucinations identical to reality.
“It was originally an apparatus designed to suppress the True Demon.”
The Vajra Demon Ancestor said leisurely.
“Once exposed to this light, you can never escape.”
The Vajra Demon Ancestor smiled mockingly.
“You will suffer forever within inescapable illusions.”
She turned her body.
“Oh, and if you break even one of those tubes, they will all die. Well, you probably can’t hear me anymore.”
She walked out with a joyful expression.
The mental illusion did not work on Bu Eunseol.
However, the mental light pouring from thousands of glass tubes possessed a different power from the tower made of eyeballs. It was pouring the death-like hallucinations that the trapped martial artists were seeing directly into his mind.
Because of this, his body refused to listen and he could not move a single step.
At that moment, the sound of cracking came from the ground.
“My friend!”
“Bu Eunseol!”
Two shadows approached him with low shouts.
They were Tang Gon and Zhuge Seoun.
They had been meditating all along to endure the waves pouring out before their eyes.
Since they had been in the same space as Bu Eunseol, they had heard the entire conversation between him and the Vajra Demon Ancestor. Having broken through their inner demons with all their strength, they immediately rushed to him.
Zhuge Seoun immediately noticed that the light shooting from the glass tubes was directed at Bu Eunseol, preventing him from moving.
“We should break the tubes first.”
Bu Eunseol, exposed to the light and in pain, reached out with difficulty.
“If you break them, they will…”
Tang Gon and Zhuge Seoun exchanged glances and nodded at the same time.
“Haaah!”
With a battle cry, the two stood in front of Bu Eunseol and took the pouring light upon themselves.
For a moment, both let out great groans.
Although it was an illusion, the mental technique that controlled others’ brains through brain residue was indistinguishable from reality, and so was the pain. When they blocked the light, Bu Eunseol escaped the rising illusions before his eyes and was barely able to move his body.
“Go quickly!”
Tang Gon shouted while enduring the pain.
Bu Eunseol hesitated for a moment.
If he broke those tubes, he could save Tang Gon and Zhuge Seoun, but as the Vajra Demon Ancestor had said, thousands of martial artists could die without even knowing why.
“There must be some way among the thousands of illusions.”
Looking at the two, Bu Eunseol said quietly.
“So endure.”
But Tang Gon and Zhuge Seoun’s eyes had already lost focus.
They had fallen deeply into the illusions of the mental technique.
‘I must deal with this quickly.’
If he let the Vajra Demon Ancestor escape this time, she would hide in a place deep underground where she could never be found again. He had to deal with her before leaving this place.
Boom!
Unleashing the extreme speed movement technique with all his power, he caught up to the fleeing Vajra Demon Ancestor in an instant.
The Vajra Demon Ancestor eventually pulled out a white snake whip from her waist.
She was the supreme master of the demonic path’s unorthodox techniques. Although her martial learning level could not match Bu Eunseol’s, the subtlety of her techniques surpassed even the sect leaders of the demonic path.
Dozens of white snake-like whips moved with terrifying agility and poured down on Bu Eunseol like rain. The number of whips was a staggering ten thousand.
An illusion army.
Even an immortal would not be able to pour out ten thousand whips.
Saaaa.
When he unleashed the Martial Mist and Waves Form, all the shadows of the whips vanished. But in that moment, a snake whip carrying power strong enough to break even three-inch-thick steel pierced toward Bu Eunseol’s dantian.
Clang!
Bu Eunseol blocked the snake whip with his Silent Tiger Soul Sword in one swift motion.
Seeing this, the Vajra Demon Ancestor showed a smile of satisfaction.
“Caught you!”
The snake whip drew a large circle and in an instant spread into tens of thousands of threads, covering the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
At the same time, a sharp light pierced toward Bu Eunseol’s side.
In truth, her snake whip was not one but two, divided. If one was blocked, the other would surely strike the opening. However, with a metallic sound, the snake whip stopped at Bu Eunseol’s side.
He had blocked the hidden snake whip without even looking.
“You really are covered in iron skin.”
Bu Eunseol snorted.
Using two weapons in one strike and striking the opening the moment the enemy blocked was one of the long-established techniques in the martial world. Yet the Vajra Demon Ancestor had deployed it as if it were her secret ultimate technique, full of confidence.
“Do you think you’ve won just because you blocked it?”
The enraged Vajra Demon Ancestor began swinging the snake whips wildly.
But the terrifying aspect of his technique was its ability to show illusions indistinguishable from reality.
The White Horse Snake Technique of the White Horse Temple, which had inherited her essence, also used methods that professionally induced hallucinations in the enemy to land attacks. However, since illusions did not work on Bu Eunseol, the greatest advantage and function of the Vajra Demon Ancestor’s snake whip—the supreme technique of the world—had disappeared.
He had no choice but to fight with ordinary weapon techniques like a normal martial artist.
Whiririri! Crack!
Nevertheless, the Vajra Demon Ancestor’s snake technique was not to be underestimated. The demonic path’s unorthodox techniques passed down through generations were extremely refined, and it was difficult to find openings in the forms.
Bu Eunseol used the method of immediately breaking the forms in response to the Vajra Demon Ancestor’s attacks.
Sometimes the refined techniques of the Nangyang Sword Style poured out, while at other times the sword techniques of the Hwa Wu Sect sprang forth.
From his days as a beginner, he had constantly competed against the geniuses of the righteous path. Later, he learned the martial arts of the Martial Emperor, gained great enlightenment from clashing with great masters of the righteous path, and had even mastered the pinnacle sword techniques of multiple sword sects, deeply understanding the principles of both righteous and demonic swordsmanship.
In addition, he had continuously grown through battles with supreme experts.
In short, every trial and every battle had caused his martial understanding to rise without end. No matter how refined the snake techniques the Vajra Demon Ancestor used, she could no longer compete with Bu Eunseol in pure martial arts.
Slash!
Before long, sharp wounds covered the Vajra Demon Ancestor’s entire body.
The Vajra Demon Ancestor, who had thrown the world into chaos with her combative and absolute power.
Bu Eunseol, who possessed infinite potential and had constantly broken through his limits through bloody battles.
Their contest had finally been decided.
Chiiiii.
Bu Eunseol’s Silent Tiger Soul Sword was aimed at the Vajra Demon Ancestor’s forehead, and white smoke rose from his body.
The power combining the Ban-Geuk Method and the Endless Heavenly Light Art shot through the Silent Tiger Soul Sword into the Vajra Demon Ancestor’s forehead.
It completely destroyed her essence, energy, and spirit, and also brought disaster to the original soul of the Vajra Demon Ancestor connected to Tang Cheong’s body.
The Vajra Demon Ancestor sensed death.
The body of Tang Cheong that she was currently controlling was the Heavenly Spiritual Body she had searched for so desperately all this time. She had almost reached the goal he had pursued for generations, yet because of this young brat, everything was turning to bubbles?
“Martial Soul Command Lord! This child is the daughter of the Tang family!”
The Vajra Demon Ancestor cried out desperately in a cracked voice.
“If I die, this child will die too. Then you will be chased by the righteous path and the Tang family for the rest of your life.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes, which had been pouring out power without pause, shook.
Tang Cheong.
She was the only blood relative left to his close friend Tang Gon.
Although he had become a great master of the central plains and led the Tang family, he was a person who felt loneliness deeply.
If Tang Cheong were to die screaming?
He would be tormented by immense guilt.
At that moment, two shadows descended from the air.
They were Tang Gon and Zhuge Seoun, who had been trapped in the vortex of mental illusion instead of Bu Eunseol.
Tang Gon spoke in a calm voice.
“Having been born as the daughter of a martial family, one must live with that level of resolve.”
He looked at Bu Eunseol and gave a faint smile.
“Isn’t that right?”
“But…”
‘It is something I can understand.’
For Tang Gon, this would be more painful than having his own flesh torn out.
Yet he smiled for Bu Eunseol, who would carry the guilt.
Bu Eunseol gripped the Silent Tiger Soul Sword tightly.
If he did not kill the Vajra Demon Ancestor here, countless people would die.
He would have no choice but to cut down the bloodline of his closest friend and the innocent woman who had looked up to him with his own hands.
[Command Lord!]
At that moment, Zhuge Seoun urgently sent a voice transmission.
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