Dawn was already breaking in the distant east.
In Bu Eunseol’s eyes, which had become like a streak of meteor, the scenery of Phoenix Valley finally came into view.
Ruuuumble.
Another massive shockwave was clearly felt.
As expected, the source of the vibrations he had sensed at the inn was Phoenix Valley.
Could a human truly detect such faint tremors spreading from hundreds of li away? Of course not.
Perhaps that was why people usually attached the word ‘magic’ to such events.
By adding one easy word to the unknown, the world suddenly seemed perfectly arranged. Even incomprehensible phenomena could be explained in one go.
However, the scenery around Phoenix Valley was slowly vanishing.
It was as if a god was cleanly erasing the deep gorge from existence, one section at a time.
‘An Absolute Boundary?’
There was no mystical art capable of cleanly erasing such a massive gorge. Only an Absolute Boundary, which completely separated one space from another, could create such a phenomenon.
‘Was it possible to create an Absolute Boundary this quickly?’
It had been less than two days since he left Phoenix Valley, yet in that short time, someone had unfolded a massive Absolute Boundary right at the entrance?
‘I thought it would require enormous manpower and time.’
One of the mysteries he had yet to uncover was exactly how Absolute Boundaries were created.
Judging from their astonishing power, he had assumed they required vast amounts of time and manpower.
But it seemed they could be made this quickly?
Who could it be?
The most likely suspects were the Sacred Domain and the Three Families. They were capable of unfolding Absolute Boundaries at will.
‘It could also be another faction.’
In the past, the Martial Venerable had also unfolded an Absolute Boundary in his own hidden vault.
Whiiir.
A mysterious light began to flicker across Bu Eunseol’s body as he stood before the Absolute Boundary. He was aligning the mixed powers within his body.
The only way to break an Absolute Boundary was to harmonize the Three Divine Energies.
Flash!
He unleashed the harmony, but the Absolute Boundary did not budge.
‘Very well.’
Bu Eunseol took a deep breath, and brilliant light exploded from his eyes.
Thanks to the Endless Heavenly Light Art, he could now harmonize the Three Divine Energies smoothly without forcibly enduring pain or overexerting himself like before.
Flash! Flash! Flash!
After unleashing the harmony three times in succession, he finally managed to create cracks in the Absolute Boundary. Even so, the opening was far too small for Bu Eunseol to enter.
‘It feels even more solid than any Absolute Boundary I’ve encountered before.’
Kiiiing!
This time, accompanied by a heaven-rending wail, pitch-black sword energy surged from Bu Eunseol’s Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
He had unleashed the Seven Blood Tear Forms, the absolute sword art that brought death to all things in existence.
Kwaaaaang!
He poured the Seven Blood Tear Forms into the cracks, and finally a portion of the Absolute Boundary broke away. But even that only widened the crack slightly—he still could not enter.
‘Even if I use the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi, I need at least a palm-sized space.’
—Aaah!
Was it an illusion? It sounded like faint screams were coming from somewhere.
With his heart growing urgent, Bu Eunseol gritted his teeth and raised the Endless Heavenly Light Art.
Bang!
Brilliant light shot into the sky. Bu Eunseol raised his Silent Tiger Soul Sword once more.
Kiaaaaaah!
Unleashing the Seven Blood Tear Forms together with the Endless Heavenly Light Art, five-colored radiant sword energy poured out alongside the demonic wail.
Grip.
The tip of the Silent Tiger Soul Sword he held trembled for a moment.
The fusion of the Endless Heavenly Light Art and Seven Blood Tear Forms was incomplete and consumed extreme mental and physical strength, but he had no time to worry about that now.
Flash!
As the Silent Tiger Soul Sword sliced through the air, a cracking sound rang out, and the Absolute Boundary finally split apart.
Swish!
Without hesitation, he stepped inside.
Boom.
Intense vibrations and noise spread in all directions from within. Yet nowhere could he see any of the Phoenix Valley disciples.
‘Have enemies invaded?’
Using his movement art to rush deeper, an unbelievable sight was revealed.
The interior of Phoenix Valley had completely changed. All traces of the gorge had vanished, replaced by an endlessly vast forest that stretched out as if he had entered another world.
‘This is…’ Bu Eunseol rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
The once-familiar Phoenix Valley had all its buildings gone, and the disciples had vanished as if they had evaporated.
Whoosh!
At that moment, a brilliant light surged from the distant sky.
It was so radiant that it even overshadowed the midday sun—dazzlingly beautiful and so mystical it seemed to steal the viewer’s soul.
‘There’s something there.’
With an entranced expression, he slowly headed toward the source of the light. But he soon stopped in his tracks.
‘The disciples…’
Bu Eunseol’s face grew extremely heavy.
The path was littered with the corpses of Phoenix Valley disciples.
A single drop of blood was consistently formed on each of their foreheads.
As if to show off superior martial prowess, a powerful expert had used the One Point Crimson technique to pierce straight through their foreheads.
Whoosh!
Once again, a massive shockwave spread across the distant sky.
Boom!
Bu Eunseol urgently used his movement art and arrived at the location of the light in an instant.
Upon reaching a rocky cliff area filled with boulders, he saw before him a woman in splendid attire and a man wearing robes that seemed wrapped in a giant black dragon. They stood facing each other at a distance of about thirty meters, with a large, round sphere of light rising around them.
The woman was the Red Flame Immortal.
The man in clothes covered by a black dragon was none other than Baek Museong.
‘Brother Baek?’
A current Division Commander of the Martial Alliance, the Golden True Dragon Baek Museong.
The man who once carried such a bright smile and warm energy… In the time since they last met, he now looked about ten years older, and his eyes were viciously narrowed. If Bu Eunseol had not been able to recognize people by their physique, he would never have identified him.
Between the two engaged in an inner energy contest floated a single mysterious orb. The light that had been shooting into the sky was emanating from that very orb.
‘I cannot intervene recklessly.’
An inner energy battle was not merely a clash of strength, but a life-or-death struggle involving life force, energy, and mental power.
The two were currently at the peak of their inner energy duel.
A storm of true energy had formed between them, along with a round energy membrane.
If Bu Eunseol tried to help the Red Flame Immortal by launching palm energy, the internal forces could explode and kill or severely injure both of them.
As the endless pushing and pulling of inner energy continued, the Red Flame Immortal’s energy eventually grew unstable. The orb between them was suddenly sucked into Baek Museong’s hand.
“Die.”
At the same time, terrifying inner energy rapidly penetrated her body.
If exposed to such overwhelming power any longer, the Red Flame Immortal’s body would be torn to pieces.
Woooong.
At that moment, a white current flowed from Bu Eunseol’s body and seeped into the Red Flame Immortal’s vital acupoint. He had used the Heavenly Mind Heart Sutra to inject true energy that was nearly indistinguishable from the inner energy she was operating.
This was the only way to safely save her.
Kwaaaaaang!
The terrifying power of Bu Eunseol combined with the Red Flame Immortal’s energy, creating a truly heaven-shaking force.
Crack.
Baek Museong’s skin split like a spiderweb in an instant, and fresh blood flowed from his nose and mouth.
‘At this rate, Brother Baek will die.’
Boom!
Bu Eunseol fired his overwhelming inner energy like a cannonball through the Red Flame Immortal’s body. With a massive explosion, Baek Museong’s body flew straight back and slammed into a boulder dozens of meters away.
“Immortal.”
Bu Eunseol hurriedly supported the Red Flame Immortal.
But her body felt far too light, as if it were empty.
‘This…’
The Red Flame Immortal had already suffered fatal injuries before the inner energy duel. Her meridians were ruptured, her internal organs had melted, and even her muscles were twisted and destroyed.
‘To think Brother Baek would use such a vicious method.’
Bu Eunseol continuously poured gentle Ban-Geuk Method energy into her so she would not feel pain.
“Martial Soul Command Lord.”
Thanks to that, the Red Flame Immortal barely opened her eyes.
“You’ve come.”
“What exactly happened?”
“This valley once stored one of the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearls, the greatest treasure in the martial world alongside the Harmony of Sun and Moon.”
The Red Flame Immortal looked with a pained expression at the forest where her disciples had been massacred.
“It is a treasure that countless strong experts in the martial world desperately desire… My disciples touched the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl to save me and ended up exposing its power.”
Hearing this, Bu Eunseol bit his lip with a pained expression.
—There is no such thing as a noble death. Struggle at least to not die… If the Immortal taught you to follow fate, then the time has come for you disciples to awaken her.
—Even if you do not achieve the desired result, if you did your best, there will be no regrets.
Bu Eunseol had advised her disciples not to accept fate and to do their best, but there was something he did not know.
Not everyone was as smart and wise as he was.
The fact that they could not come up with deeply calculated schemes after countless failures… the disciples’ choice to save their master ultimately brought about disaster.
In the end, they had let a bloodthirsty beast into the chicken coop with their own hands.
“It is all my fault.”
The Red Flame Immortal shook her head at Bu Eunseol’s words.
“It simply followed the natural order.”
Suddenly, the Red Flame Immortal’s eyes grew increasingly hazy.
Her body was completely destroyed, and she was barely holding on with a single strand of immortal energy.
“Please take care of it from now on.”
The Red Flame Immortal showed a calm smile.
“That way, the martial world will be able to catch its breath from the rampage of the Seven Great Demonic Sects for a while.”
Bu Eunseol bit his lip.
In the end, it had gone according to the Red Flame Immortal’s wish.
But what was the point of stabilizing the martial world this way?
‘Rather than this, I should just destroy this entire damn world.’
Unable to endure the sorrow and pain, the heavens and earth began to shake, and a dark, black energy flowed from Bu Eunseol’s body.
“I’ve placed far too heavy a burden on you.”
At that moment, the Red Flame Immortal slowly took Bu Eunseol’s hands.
The movement was so natural that he did not feel anything strange, especially since it contained the seductive art she had trained her entire life.
Only a moment later did he realize that in her hands was a sharp dagger engraved with a phoenix pattern, held in reverse.
Squelch.
The dagger smoothly pierced the Red Flame Immortal’s heart like a viper’s fang.
Using Bu Eunseol’s hand, she had taken her own life.
“Immortal.”
“In your heart, there is only passion, sorrow, and sacrifice for others.”
She reached out with a sorrowful expression.
“You save the world, yet you yourself have never once been saved.”
The Red Flame Immortal looked at Bu Eunseol with pity.
“Trials are not meant to be broken, but to be forged… Your sorrow, pain, darkness, and suffering will soon become a brilliant light.”
Her hand eventually fell weakly without reaching Bu Eunseol’s cheek.
“Immortal.”
Swallowing his grief, Bu Eunseol bowed deeply before the Red Flame Immortal’s remains.
“Baek Museong.”
The bursting sorrow turned into fierce rage once more.
Baek Museong, who had been collapsed against the cliff, had already disappeared. His goal had probably been the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl from the beginning.
—Have you finally remembered?
In the barely recovered fragments of his memory, the bright smile of a young Baek Museong appeared.
He was the person Bu Eunseol had wanted to meet so badly.
He had thought the boy would be the key to regaining his childhood, but he had become a puppet possessed by evil.
“You won’t get away!”
Boom!
With an explosion, Bu Eunseol’s figure shot into the sky.
At the same time, he instantly caught up to Baek Museong, who was rapidly escaping Phoenix Valley.
Bang!
Baek Museong, who had been flying through the air, was slammed straight into the ground.
He had struck his back with the Fist Demon Manifestation technique.
Black storms raged across the body of Baek Museong as he rose again.
It was extremely similar in form and energy to the Mixed Demonic Magic Energy used by the subordinates of the True Demon. However, the black dragon form was blurry and lacked the feel of sorcery, so it could not be definitively called Mixed Demonic Magic Energy.
Whirl! Swish!
The black dragon wrapped around Baek Museong instantly coiled around Bu Eunseol.
Kiiiing!
Along with a heaven-rending wail, pitch-black sword energy spread in hundreds of branches from both of Bu Eunseol’s hands.
He had unleashed the Death Blade Palm Style, scattering deathly sword energy with bare hands.
Whirl! Clang-clang-clang!
The sharp sword energies coiled around the black dragon in a spiral, spinning fiercely while scattering black flames.
Slash.
Just as the black dragon was cut into dozens of pieces and fell apart,
“Why?!”
The sword energies scattered in all directions returned and clung to Baek Museong’s body in an instant.
Ziiing. Ziiing.
Exposed to the sharp sword energy, faint light flickered repeatedly across Baek Museong’s entire body.
It was a supreme technique capable of slicing even the Diamond Indestructible Body in half, yet the mysterious power surrounding his body blocked it.
Boom!
At that moment, sharp energy force struck Bu Eunseol directly in the chest.
Baek Museong had seized the momentary gap while the Seven Blood Tear Forms was transitioning and fired a lightning-like energy force.
Rumble. Crackle.
Within the thick cloud of dust, a pitch-black armored shadow slowly emerged along with black flames.
The intense energy force penetrating while in the Seven Blood Tear Forms state had naturally manifested the form of the Infinite Reversal Energy.
“Why…?”
Bu Eunseol walked forward slowly. His entire body was covered in killing intent, and his eyes gleamed with an eerie metallic luster.
“Why did you kill innocent people?”
Bu Eunseol looked down at Baek Museong’s chest with eyes full of contempt.
“For something as trivial as a treasure?”
Thud! Boom!
With a heaven-tearing explosion, Baek Museong’s body floated into the air before slamming back into the ground.
He had used the Seventh Form of the Fist Demon Seven Styles—Remove the Old, Establish the New—which delivered invisible and unstoppable power.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Massive fist power poured endlessly onto the face of the fallen Baek Museong.
With every explosion, Baek Museong’s body slowly sank deeper into the ground.
“Why?!”
Boom!
Blood flowed from Baek Museong’s mouth, and his face was completely mangled.
Bu Eunseol looked down at him with ice-cold eyes.
At a glance, his gaze was clearly abnormal, and even his appearance had changed into someone else’s. He had either been overtaken by another personality like Weiji Hyesang, or was being controlled by someone.
“I will now free you from that filthy shackle so you suffer no more.”
Sching.
As Bu Eunseol drew the Silent Tiger Soul Sword and moved to cut his neck,
“I’m not suffering.”
At that moment, Baek Museong, who had faintly opened his eyes, spoke in a low voice.
“It’s only natural… because this is what I must do.”
Bu Eunseol froze.
The moment he heard those words, the image of young Baek Museong sweating, showing his white teeth in a grin, flashed through his mind.
—Because I have to become your perfect shadow.
The young Baek Museong had endured terrible pain yet smiled as if it were natural.
—Born with an ordinary body, if I want to become your shadow… there is no other way.
“Don’t worry about anything.”
Baek Museong reached his hand into the air with a bright smile.
“Hyung will protect you.”
The fragment of childhood memory caused Bu Eunseol’s eyes to tremble faintly.
‘So it really was him.’
Baek Museong was the shadow his father had created to protect him.
Perhaps after the blood tragedy at the Saha Manor, he had endured torture and suffering in Bu Eunseol’s place at the hands of certain forces.
‘Brother Baek also lost his memories.’
Because he had escaped the Saha Manor with his memories lost, he became a disciple of the Buddha Venerable.
It was possible that his identity as a shadow had been revealed, or that he was still being used.
Tremble.
Bu Eunseol’s fingertips trembled lightly as he shook his head with a devastated expression.
Baek Museong was another victim who had lost everything in the Saha Manor blood tragedy and had been trampled by a filthy fate.
‘How could I possibly kill him?’
Clack.
In the end, he sheathed his sword.
Even so, bright red blood flowed from Baek Museong’s neck.
Even though the blade had not touched him, the sharpness of the Silent Tiger Soul Sword infused with Bu Eunseol’s inner energy had inflicted a deep wound.
Bu Eunseol extended his left hand and used the Air Grasping Technique.
A single orb from Baek Museong’s chest flew into his hand.
This was a treasure of Phoenix Valley and must never fall into the hands of evil. No matter who was behind this, it absolutely could not be taken.
“I have to take it…”
At that moment, Baek Museong muttered with unfocused eyes.
“If I don’t take this, my personality will shatter again.”
He kept repeating while reaching out his hand.
“I can fully merge my personalities and strike back at them.”
Cough.
Spitting out blood, Baek Museong spoke in a low voice.
“Chu So… that bastard doesn’t help others without a price.”
“What do you mean?”
Perhaps due to the impact of the seventh form striking his head, Baek Museong muttered like a soulless person.
“Chu So is looking for all the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearls and needs a large force to track their whereabouts… To strike back at those who made me this way, I approached Chu So and obtained the method… Just as the prophecy said, I detected the energy of the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl in this area… So I used the Absolute Boundary he taught me…”
It was incoherent rambling, but Bu Eunseol saw through to the truth within it.
‘So he was trying to escape the shackles in his own way.’
Baek Museong had unwillingly become someone’s puppet. To cut those strings, he had approached Chu So and obtained the method.
What Chu So wanted was the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearls.
Baek Museong had followed his will by stationing the Martial Heaven Corps in this area, waiting for the moment the orb would reveal its power.
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