In that instant, a purple glow flashed in the White Hand Demon Empress's eyes.
Seee.
Her shadow wriggled like a living creature, and before he knew it, it slipped behind Bu Eunseol and embraced him.
A deep, dense streak of purple light seeped into Bu Eunseol's entire body, and soon, even his eyes were dyed violet.
The White Hand Demon Empress's mind-seizing demonic power did not fly like a sword, nor did it burn like a flame.
Like pollen in spring, or like the evening sunset, it invaded his mind and spirit with absolute naturalness.
"It is useless to resist."
As if to prove her words, the focus in Bu Eunseol's steady eyes had vanished.
"Come one step closer."
As though his soul were devoured in the face of the White Hand Demon Empress's fatal charm, Bu Eunseol walked one step forward on his own accord, like a puppet pulled by invisible strings.
"Fufu."
The White Hand Demon Empress's smile deepened.
She was not only born with the power of oblivion to erase the memories of martial artists, but she also possessed a magic that captivated the heart and soul.
"I have been curious all along," the White Hand Demon Empress pursed her red lips into an O.
"Just what kind of charm do you possess to capture that witch's heart?"
Taking another step closer, she slipped behind Bu Eunseol's back and lightly caressed his shoulder.
"Unlike other Demon Ancestors, the places where I can utilize my power are limited.
To deploy my true soul-seizing demonic power, I must bring people to this Moon-Gazing Island."
"..."
"But if I were to tell you my location without hesitation, you would have been suspicious, wouldn't you?"
The reason the White Hand Demon Empress had deliberately left clues for Bu Eunseol to guess her base.
It was solely because she wanted him to come to Moon-Gazing Island on his own accord, without any suspicion.
"By tossing out small clues like this, once you put in the effort to find my base, you would immediately come here without any doubt."
The White Hand Demon Empress placed a finger on Bu Eunseol's jawline.
"I like you.
You are certainly a man worthy of my favor."
Standing in front of Bu Eunseol once more, she said in a low voice,
"Now, kiss my foot and swear your oath of obedience."
Bu Eunseol slowly bent his body.
A look of excitement flared in the White Hand Demon Empress's eyes.
The moment to kneel that lofty man, a young Great Grandmaster whom no master had ever forced to submit until now, at her feet was finally arriving.
But in that instant,
Ziiiing.
deep within Bu Eunseol's empty eyes, a flash like shards of ice flickered.
It was not a light trapped in the abyss, but a primordial coldness that froze the abyss itself.
"...!"
The smile drawn on the White Hand Demon Empress's lips froze.
Something was wrong.
How could a person devoured by the soul-seizing power have such eyes?
"You were never caught in the first place!"
Only then did the White Hand Demon Empress realize that the soul-seizing demonic power she emitted had not seeped into Bu Eunseol's body, but had vanished as if shattered to pieces.
"Did you want to toy with me?"
The White Hand Demon Empress's face turned red and blue in turns.
"You dare mock me?"
"I was merely curious."
Bu Eunseol let out a deep sigh.
"Why you lured me here... and just what kind of power is hidden on Moon-Gazing Island."
Together with Yoo Unryong, he had marked the trails of those who lost their memories on a large map.
When he did, a bizarre blank space formed over Moon-Gazing Island, and those thousands of dots connected like human blood vessels to form a massive array.
―'A power is definitely flowing through Moon-Gazing Island.
That is why they lured you there.'
That had been Yoo Unryong's conclusion.
And when the unknown energy erupted from the White Hand Demon Empress's eyes and penetrated his mind, Bu Eunseol had acted as if he had submitted to it on purpose.
To grasp her intentions.
Ultimately, she had attempted to dominate Bu Eunseol's mind by borrowing the demonic power overflowing on Moon-Gazing Island.
'And as for the witch...'
Bu Eunseol could tell.
The one she referred to as a witch was none other than Dali.
'She has been helping me all this time.'
The masked women dressed in silver who had assisted him.
They must be subordinates sent by Dali.
"Do you know about Dali?"
"Dali?
What is that?"
"Then who were you referring to as a witch?"
"Fufu.
So that is how it is."
Realizing that Bu Eunseol knew nothing, the White Hand Demon Empress recovered some of her composure.
"Do you think I would tell you?"
"If so," Bu Eunseol gathered his internal energy, "let us settle this life and death."
"You are indeed dying to kill me."
The White Hand Demon Empress extended her hand.
"But there is no need to fight."
And she made an unexpected proposal.
"I will tell you the locations of the remaining Seven Great Demon Ancestors, and the methods to break their power."
"..."
"If you kill them, the existence of the Seven Great Demon Ancestors will never appear in the martial world again."
Surprisingly, she had also realized that Bu Eunseol was the primordial vessel capable of breaking the lineage of the demonic path's source that had been passed down for generations.
"With this single choice, you can save countless people."
"Why are you making such a proposal to me?"
"The Seven Great Demon Ancestors are all destined to die anyway.
From the moment we stepped into the martial world, we were prepared for that."
"Which means there is a condition."
"One night."
The White Hand Demon Empress wore an extremely serious expression.
"If you can save countless people inwith just one night, it is by no means a bad deal."
"Are you planning to absorb my cultivation using the art of absorbing Yang to nourish Yin?"
"Would that even work?
On a man who can endure my soul-seizing demonic power?"
"..."
"For a long time, I have dreamed of being with a man like you."
She stared intently at Bu Eunseol.
"That is all I desire."
Bu Eunseol fell silent for a moment.
To think one of the Seven Great Demon Ancestors under heaven would make such a proposal.
Yet, thinking coldly, her offer was by no means bad.
The locations of the Seven Great Demon Ancestors could never be traced by an intelligence network.
If he accepted her proposal, it was an opportunity to save countless innocent lives in exchange for a single night.
"Martial Soul Command Lord.
I heard you have always done the right thing.
There should be no need to hesitate."
"Is sleeping together the right thing?"
"My proposal is a greater cause.
But if you refuse out of pride, it merely becomes a minor righteousness."
After quiet deliberation, Bu Eunseol shook his head.
"I refuse."
"Why?"
"If the Seven Great Demon Ancestors appear, I will simply deal with them as I did before."
"Of course, a man like you can do that.
But in the process, countless people will die."
The White Hand Demon Empress opened her hands.
"If you do not want to, I will not force you."
"Return those who lost their memories to normal."
A solemn light radiated from Bu Eunseol's eyes.
"Then I will not kill you."
"It is impossible."
The White Hand Demon Empress snorted.
"Did you think I was erasing memories of my own will?
Simply by being born with the lineage of the Seven Great Demon Ancestors, I naturally influence martial artists."
It was a shocking revelation.
The fact that the White Hand Demon Empress erased the memories of martial artists was not her choice, but rather due to a power she was born with.
"I heard you have done quite a lot of good deeds for a member of the demonic path."
The White Hand Demon Empress smiled.
"If you believe my very existence is an evil that harms others, kill me.
I will not resist."
Bu Eunseol had always opposed the notion of sacrificing one person to save many.
But what about a villain?
If a person, through no will of their own, harmed countless others simply by existing, was it necessary to kill such a being?
"So you do not merely sever memories."
After a long silence, Bu Eunseol looked down at her with a contemptuous gaze.
"You are also skilled at seeing through others' temperaments to induce internal conflict."
The White Hand Demon Empress had grasped Bu Eunseol's righteous nature, attempting to shake his values and cause confusion in his mind.
"Even if that is so, my words are the truth.
I truly manipulate the memories of martial artists regardless of my own will."
The White Hand Demon Empress said in a low voice.
"Make your decision.
To kill me or not."
Now only Bu Eunseol's choice remained.
Born from the demonic path's source, the White Hand Demon Empress possessed an innate power that had a bad influence on martial artists, and whether she wanted to or not, she was destined to harm many.
Having laid bare that truth, she had proposed a single night to Bu Eunseol.
"If you cause people to lose their memories regardless of your will," Bu Eunseol concluded after a long silence, "I will help you."
"With what?"
"I will move you to a place where your power cannot reach."
"Are you planning to lock me up?"
"If you do not want that, there is a second option.
In fact, it can be called the most fundamental solution."
Bu Eunseol said as if making a vow.
"I will find the cause that makes people lose their memories."
And he added,
"Come to my palace's safe house."
"Taking me with you?
Do you want to sever your subordinates' memories?"
"My subordinates have constantly trained their minds so they are not affected by the power of the Seven Great Demon Ancestors."
Bu Eunseol said calmly.
"I promise.
Mobilizing all our manpower and knowledge, I will ensure that your body will no longer harm the martial world."
The White Hand Demon Empress's eyes widened.
She had made such a proposal to shatter others' convictions and plunge them into contradiction.
Ordinary martial artists would fall into distress after exchanging just a word or two with her, yet Bu Eunseol did not hesitate for a moment, calmly resolving it.
"Fufu."
The White Hand Demon Empress laughed softly.
"You truly are a remarkable man.
To think you would force me to play my last card."
In the end, she had merely been uttering words she did not mean.
Fwoosh.
Before he knew it, the White Hand Demon Empress was releasing white flames across her entire body.
At the same time, her face returned to that bizarre appearance with only the shapes of eyes and a nose.
"You must be confident that you can bring me down right away."
As she opened her hands, streaks of light shot up in the distant sky.
"But did you think you were the only one who could predict my movements?"
At the same time, strange thoughts forced their way into Bu Eunseol's mind.
"Originally, my power is only completed when a fitting sacrifice is offered."
Having anticipated that all the plans she prepared might not work, she had hidden another secret card.
"This Miao Village itself is the 'Altar of Memory Consumption' that harbors the power of the source.
And with an outstanding man like you entering it, the ritual is completed."
Moon-Gazing Island was the birthplace of the White Hand Demon Empress's lineage passed down for generations, and a place to gain the power of the source by sacrificing an outstanding individual.
"Martial Soul Command Lord.
You shall become the sacrifice to grant me the power to conquer the martial world!"
Just as the White Hand Demon Empress's wild laughter echoed through the night sky, all sound vanished as if by magic.
At the same time, his vision blurred, and space itself began to transform.
Thin streaks of light spreading from all directions extended across the ground, moving like the nervous system of a giant creature.
Next, the space around Bu Eunseol warped, creating layers of distortion.
Pew-pew-pew-pew!
Suddenly, hidden weapons poured like a storm from the pitch-black darkness.
Bu Eunseol reflexively whipped his sleeves to deflect the rushing weapons.
Clank, clang, clang!
Although a metallic ring echoed, they were not hidden weapons.
They were shapes formed from the memories flowing out of his mind.
Every time he deflected a weapon, his memories were erased one by one.
The memories of desperate struggles, the curses spewed by dying enemies, and even the trembling gazes of women who had loved him.
The more he deflected them, the more the fragments that constituted his existence seemed to disintegrate.
'They are vanishing.'
Bu Eunseol reached out into the empty air as if trying to grasp something without realizing it.
But before he knew it, that hand had transformed into the slender, fragile arm of a young boy.
As if he had returned to his childhood.
He felt the forgotten pain of hunger, the bone-chilling cold, and even his sharp anger toward the world.
'What was my name again?'
Why am I here?
And who am I?
Bu Eunseol's consciousness floated without direction or purpose, like a feather cast into a vast ocean.
The Seven Great Demon Ancestors.
Those who inherited the source of demons.
Among them, the true authority of the White Hand Demon Empress to sever the memories of martial artists was a power capable of collapsing the ego of even a master who had built supreme martial prowess, like a sandcastle before a wave.
―[Hey, you idiot!]
At that moment, the voice of Baekri Geomha echoed.
―[Look at you.
You are preparing perfectly to become the White Hand Demon Empress's slave!]
It was a stroke of absolute luck.
As his memories and consciousness faded, Baekri Geomha had woken him.
'Why?'
Bu Eunseol looked at him with a hazy mind.
'If I disappear, wouldn't it be good for you too?'
―[It would be fine if only your memories vanished!
But I am disappearing along with you!]
Just as he said, Baekri Geomha's form was growing faint.
Because Bu Eunseol's memories were vanishing, Baekri Geomha (who remained in the form of a persona) was also disappearing.
"Being forgotten is not so bad either."
―[What?]
'Is there nothing you want to forget?'
Bu Eunseol showed a smile within his fading consciousness.
'I... do.'
Baekri Geomha did not say a word.
Since he resided within Bu Eunseol's personality, he understood his nature better than anyone else.
Though Bu Eunseol appeared cold to the world and saw through everything on the outside, in reality, he was a person of deep affection.
His mind and spirit seemed infinitely tough, but if one cracked open that shell, a gentle and tender core lay hidden.
―[Damn it!]
Seeing Bu Eunseol's ego about to vanish, Baekri Geomha jumped.
―[How have we endured until now?
Are you going to die a dog's death to a hag like that?]
"..."
But Bu Eunseol no longer responded.
There was only one way to snap that dazed bastard out of it: he had to share a memory powerful enough to deal a massive shock to his spirit.
―[But that guy is too fragile.]
If he shared an overwhelmingly shocking memory in this situation, Bu Eunseol might conversely lose his will to live.
―[Then...]
Baekri Geomha bit his lip.
The memories that could instantly retrieve Bu Eunseol's fading ego, which were shocking yet capable of burning his will to live, were only one.
* * *
"Most martial arts in the world pursue the exertion of powerful force."
The small training ground inside Saha Manor.
His father, Baekri Muha, was lecturing on martial arts to teach the young Baekri Geomha the Emperor's Step.
"However, those who pursue the true Dao of martial arts conversely train in the method of withdrawing force."
His father's voice echoed low and deep, like the scent of pine needles carried on the wind.
"The Emperor's Step are also martial arts yet not martial arts, a footwork yet not a footwork... a kind of secret to withdrawing force."
Having finished his words, his father clasped his hands behind his back.
Baekri Geomha held his breath, waiting for his father's next move.
But his father did not move a muscle.
Only the wind blew around him, and dry leaves drifted.
Right then,
Thud!
a stone rolling on the ground far away flew toward Baekri Geomha's face.
Since it flew at quite a fast speed, Baekri Geomha reflexively tried to twist his body to avoid it.
"Do not dodge."
At the stern voice, Baekri Geomha's body flinched.
But because he had already moved a half-step, the stone grazed his cheek.
"Did you feel the path the stone intended to take?"
Baekri Geomha shook his head, and his father reached out his hand again.
When he did, dozens of stones far away floated into the air.
"Look closely."
Swoosh.
The stones shot forward so fast they were invisible to the eye.
His father shifted his foot a half-step, or rather, barely a handspan, to the side.
It was not a dodging movement.
It was an incredibly natural shift, as if he had stood in that spot from the very beginning.
Then, marvelously, the violently flying gravel drifted past, grazing his father's body just before contact, like flowing water meeting a pillar and naturally parting.
Unable to believe his eyes even after witnessing it, Baekri Geomha asked with wide eyes,
"How..."
"Because the Emperor's Step are not a secret to oppose force."
His father looked at Baekri Geomha with a warm gaze.
"You vacate the path that the force intends to take, while occupying its center yourself."
And he continued in a low voice, "If I become the center of the world, wouldn't all the forces of the world ultimately have no choice but to bypass me?"
"If I become the center of the world, then all the forces..."
It was a martial principle that even a martial artist who spent decades dedicated to martial arts would struggle to comprehend.
Yet Baekri Geomha had already been capable of conversing with great scholars since the age of five, and his current level of knowledge was so high that even his father, Baekri Muha, dared not fathom it.
He kept sparkling his eyes, pondering that profound logic.
"Would you like to try again?"
At his father's question, Baekri Geomha nodded.
"Yes."
"This time, it is not a stone, but your father's fist."
He lightly extended his fist toward Baekri Geomha.
It carried a momentum that could collapse a mountain, but the speed was slow.
Baekri Geomha tried to lift his foot, but he was pinned down by the overwhelming pressure and his body refused to obey.
"Fear is also a force.
You must read its flow."
Ultimately, his father's fist reached right in front of his nose.
Rumble!
Along with the sound of tearing air, Baekri Geomha's hair fluttered violently.
'I must not look with my eyes.'
Baekri Geomha closed his eyes instead.
Focusing all his senses on the tips of his toes, he traced the massive flow of force radiating from his father's fist.
And finally, within that flow, he found the single empty point.
'There.'
He shifted his foot slightly.
It was a truly bizarre half-step, neither stepping forward nor retreating.
Whoosh―
In an instant, his body slipped and moved as if drawn into a single point, and the fist power unleashed by his father grazed his shoulder and cleaved the empty air.
Crack!
The passing wind of the fist struck a massive tree behind him.
Crack.
Watching the giant, centuries-old tree split in two, Baekri Geomha's mouth fell open.
"What if you actually hit me?"
The movement just now was not completely intended by Baekri Geomha.
It was merely his survival instinct that had moved his body in accordance with his father's teachings.
At that moment, a drifting leaf landed lightly on Baekri Geomha's shoulder.
Although he had stood at the center of the fist wind that seemed to shake the world just a moment ago, his body was in absolute silence.
"Because I knew you would succeed."
His father wore a faint smile for the first time.
"Remember today's sensation."
It was the smile of an emperor, filled with satisfaction and pride.
"You do not need to become the master of force..."
Flutter.
At that moment, his father's sleeve fluttered in the wind.
"It is enough to simply stand at the center of the path where the force passes."
A maple leaf blown by the wind tried to land lightly on his father's shoulder this time.
However, the leaf passed straight through his father's body and settled on the ground.
Having already attained the Natural Union with the Dao, not even a single leaf could violate his body.
Not repelling the force, but governing its path.
Walking while becoming the principle of the world itself.
"This is... the steps of an emperor, the Emperor's Step."
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