The air in the Manbak Pavilion was always filled with the scent of old paper and richly brewed tea.
Deep within, where the scholars gathered, all the rumors and secrets of the world flowed in, were written down in letters, and stored away in the darkness of the archives in an endless cycle.
Bu Eunseol passed through the quiet yet suffocating interior, finally entering an archive with a wide-open window offering a clear view of the outside.
There stood a middle-aged man gazing out the window, his deep eyes seeming to pierce through everything in the world.
It was none other than Baek Jeoncheon.
"It has been a long time."
His voice was low and soft.
With a gesture, he offered the seat opposite him and poured boiling tea water into a teacup.
The clear, fragrant scent of white tea gently spread through the room.
Bu Eunseol sat down without a word and picked up the teacup offered to him.
As the warmth of the teacup seeped into his fingertips, Baek Jeoncheon spoke.
"There are nine embers scattered across the world. And one of them has sent up smoke."
It was a rather poetic and ambiguous statement.
"I do not understand what you mean."
"I believe the Command Lord also knows something of the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl."
Only then did Bu Eunseol instantly realize what the nine embers he spoke of were.
"Are you saying you have found its whereabouts?"
"It would be more accurate to call it someone's scheme."
Baek Jeoncheon shook his head.
"The Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl does not emit energy on its own. But right now, it is radiating energy as if trying to summon those who read the heavenly secrets."
"You mean there is a high probability it is a trap."
"Indeed."
Sending someone to a place of death knowing it is a trap.
An ordinary martial artist would have jumped in outrage, but Bu Eunseol asked back calmly.
"Where is it?"
"It is the Myriad Phenomena Tomb that has appeared this time."
The Myriad Phenomena Tomb.
This place, known as the tomb where the principles of all things sleep, was a mysterious space where only those who had reached the Limitless Realm and could unleash Limitless Power were known to be able to enter.
However, just like the Land of the Limitless, there was no telling when or where it would appear.
Thus, those capable of entering it were known to be only the Sages who could read the heavenly secrets.
But to think Baek Jeoncheon was predicting the location where the Myriad Phenomena Tomb would appear?
'In that case, might he also know where the Yona Tribe's sacred relic is kept?'
Bu Eunseol's eyes gleamed.
If Baek Jeoncheon was a Sage capable of detecting the Myriad Phenomena Tomb, he naturally could figure out where the Land of the Limitless appeared as well.
If he granted this request?
It could become a powerful card to play in negotiations with Baek Jeoncheon.
"You are saying I am the right person to walk into that trap."
At Bu Eunseol's words, Baek Jeoncheon spoke honestly.
"Indeed."
He then offered a polite bow.
"Please investigate it, Command Lord, and retrieve it if possible."
At Baek Jeoncheon's words, Bu Eunseol took a sip of tea.
He instinctively realized the mission here was not so simple as to take it solely on the condition of learning about the Land of the Limitless.
"This task of finding the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl."
After remaining silent for a long time, he slowly spoke.
"Is it a matter for the Sacred Domain, or a matter for the Manbak Hall Master of Majeon?"
The voice asking the question was calm, but it held a sharp certainty.
Baek Jeoncheon raised his eyebrows, looking somewhat surprised.
"You knew."
It was only natural.
Mok Do-in, the Forest Pavilion Master of the Martial Alliance who had been a key figure there for decades, was a member of the Sacred Domain.
If the Martial Alliance had someone from the Sacred Domain, naturally, Majeon would as well.
For a long time since then, Bu Eunseol had suspected Baek Jeoncheon might be a member of the Sacred Domain.
―'He alone remained neutral, unswayed by the Heavenly Demon Emperor, and provided me with aid.'
"On the filthy board that is Majeon, if there is anyone with the perspective of a complete outsider… it is only you, Pavilion Master Baek."
"Which means."
Baek Jeoncheon wore a peculiar smile.
"You must have made contact with members of the Sacred Domain in the various sanctuaries. And so you naturally deduced there would be one in Majeon as well."
Bu Eunseol did not answer, but his silence was an affirmation.
"As expected, the Command Lord's trustworthiness is excellent."
Baek Jeoncheon offered his gratitude anew.
"For keeping the secret."
Bu Eunseol's intellect was considerable.
Just by guessing Baek Jeoncheon was a member of the Sacred Domain, he could have exploited it for many things.
Yet he had silently kept his mouth shut.
"I have at least the faith that you will not stab me in the back, Pavilion Master."
When Bu Eunseol had asked for help, Baek Jeoncheon had not turned him away but accepted him.
Furthermore, if he was a member of the Sacred Domain… he was an observer, not a cunning schemer.
At the very least, he would not lay despicable traps like the factions of the martial world.
That was reason enough for trust.
"Will you accept this task?"
Baek Jeoncheon spoke carefully.
"It is, of course, a highly dangerous matter, but it will certainly not bring harm to the Command Lord."
"If it will not bring harm."
"According to the divination, if the Command Lord goes there, the gains will outweigh the losses."
He then added.
"Because for everyone except the Command Lord, the divination shows a result of loss."
"I did not know the Pavilion Master could cast divinations."
Bu Eunseol glanced at the Star Plate in the office and continued.
"In that case, couldn't you divine whether it is a trap or not?"
"Casting a divination is not exactly seeing the future."
Baek Jeoncheon spoke calmly.
"It is simply counting the possibilities by following the flow of the heavenly secrets."
He then added.
"What is more difficult is how much to trust that divination."
"You mean it is harder to trust the divination."
"Indeed."
Baek Jeoncheon gave a faint smile.
"Anyone can read a divination, but how far to trust it… even the act of believing it is difficult."
It was a statement carrying a strange profundity.
What was certain was that Baek Jeoncheon did not see the future like the Wooden Buddha, nor read the heavenly secrets like the Heavenly Mechanism Star.
He was someone who predicted the flow of the future through astrology.
It was an image somewhat unsuited to Baek Jeoncheon, who had always resolved everything through exceptional intellect and wisdom.
"Then must I also trust that divination?"
"Not at all."
Baek Jeoncheon said.
"The Command Lord is someone who stands outside that flow… In truth, the divination does not matter anyway."
He then showed a self-deprecating smile.
"Which is why I am asking this of you, Command Lord."
"I would think it better to send a secret force trained by you, Pavilion Master, or exceptional troops from the Sacred Domain."
Behind Baek Jeoncheon lay the Sacred Domain, which possessed experts with the mysterious power of the Executioners.
Not only that, given how long he had held the position of Manbak Hall Master, he must have cultivated outstanding subordinates and forces on par with the secret organizations operated by the Heavenly Demon Emperor.
Even if he was someone outside the heavenly secrets, why try to send him alone on such an important task?
"Every time the Myriad Phenomena Tomb appears, the qualifications to enter change."
Guessing Bu Eunseol's meaning, Baek Jeoncheon explained.
"For this reason, it is also called the Node of Heavenly Secrets."
"I do not quite understand."
"It is known that only experts of the Limitless Realm can enter, but in reality, the conditions for entry change every time."
Baek Jeoncheon explained calmly.
"Those who can enter this time are 'those who have embodied the principles of Harmony and Chaos,' like the Command Lord. Of course, even this condition constantly shifts."
He went on.
"In the past, it was divided between those who had embodied primordial life, or those who had embodied pure principles."
"If one embodied primordial life…"
"It means someone who consumed the inner core of a spiritual beast over a thousand years old and absorbed its power."
Baek Jeoncheon smiled.
"One who embodied pure principles meant someone who had mastered the auxiliary martial studies unconstrained by forms or movements, like the Formless Sword."
He then shook his head.
"At times like those, there were simply too many who fit the criteria… It turned into a truly brutal bloodbath."
"But how could I be the only one in today's world to have awakened to Harmony and Chaos?"
Bu Eunseol wore a look of incomprehension.
"If one could grasp the conditions in advance like you, Pavilion Master, one could forcibly meet them…"
He then made a sharp point.
"Above all, the strong would choose an easier method than entering the place themselves."
It did not matter if one could not enter the place where the treasure lay.
Because they only needed to guard the entrance and ambush whoever brought it out.
"That is true."
Baek Jeoncheon said.
"Which is why the Command Lord's power is needed."
"Are you saying to use the forces of the Death Shadow Corps?"
"Not at all."
Baek Jeoncheon laughed.
"I merely believe that no matter what factions or strong men are arrayed there, the Command Lord has the ability and wisdom to retrieve it safely."
"Are you saying not even the experts of the Sacred Domain can do it?"
"If we blindly committed troops, we might succeed. But if we did, countless disciples would be hurt."
Baek Jeoncheon spoke with certainty.
"The only person capable of handling this matter alone is the Command Lord."
With this single remark, he subtly revealed that this task was not an undertaking of the Sacred Domain.
'Perhaps Pavilion Master Baek is someone just as terrifying as the Heavenly Mechanism Star.'
The more he conversed with Baek Jeoncheon, the more Bu Eunseol felt as if he were peering down into an unfathomable abyss.
Before being a figure of the Sacred Domain with mysterious power, he had endured quietly until now, never once revealing his true abilities.
Yet suddenly he displayed a divinatory ability capable of reading the heavenly secrets.
And asked such a thing of him?
'In that case.'
Bu Eunseol narrowed his eyes.
Ultimately, Baek Jeoncheon too, like himself, was someone who had set a grand design and was working toward its completion.
"Naturally, if the Command Lord grants my request, you will be able to ask for a corresponding price."
Baek Jeoncheon looked as if he knew Bu Eunseol was about to ask about the Land of the Limitless.
"Very well."
Bu Eunseol said straightforwardly.
"I will enter the Myriad Phenomena Tomb and bring you the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl."
"Thank you."
After offering a bow, Baek Jeoncheon spoke with a worried expression.
"However, it will not be easy."
He swallowed a groan and continued.
"There are tales passed down that one must sacrifice a martial art they have mastered in order to enter the Myriad Phenomena Tomb."
"You mean a martial art."
"Indeed."
Baek Jeoncheon rubbed his temples.
"It is a place where countless strongmen of the martial world have entered since thousands of years ago. But the majority failed to ever escape, and it is said the survivors lost one of their true martial arts."
Bu Eunseol knew countless hidden histories of the martial world, but he did not know much about the Myriad Phenomena Tomb.
Thus, Baek Jeoncheon's story sounded almost like an exaggerated folktale.
"It is not a certainty, of course, but it is not a story that can simply be ignored either."
"I do not mind that."
Bu Eunseol said.
"May I ask what you intend to use the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl for?"
"I naturally cannot tell you that. However."
Baek Jeoncheon smiled.
"I will never let it fall into the hands of the Master of Majeon."
The Genesis Sun and Moon and the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor were treasures that even someone like the Heavenly Demon Emperor desperately wished to obtain.
Bu Eunseol had worried whether Baek Jeoncheon might be planning to use it to negotiate with the Heavenly Demon Emperor.
And Baek Jeoncheon had seen through his inner thoughts and given him a refreshing answer.
'He truly is a terrifying figure.'
Baek Jeoncheon's intellect and martial prowess were absolutely not below his own.
Moreover, in a situation like this.
To subtly reveal that he had some grand plan?
'It means his grand design has also almost reached its end.'
"I do not know what plan you have, Pavilion Master, but I shall have to hope you are not my enemy."
Baek Jeoncheon smiled at Bu Eunseol's words.
"I share that sentiment."
From the smile spreading across his face, a flawless, pure demonic nature could be seen.
Baek Jeoncheon, who sought to achieve the pure demonic path.
Whether he was friend or foe… could not yet be clearly known.
* * *
The deepest and most twisted heart of the Sacred Demon Pavilion. There existed an extremely secret and mysterious space.
A place beyond the flow of time, it was the great hall used by the Heavenly Demon Emperor, the absolute ruler and pinnacle of the demonic path, when commanding his secret organization.
The air inside was cool and heavy.
On the distant ceiling, a bizarre nebula swirled slowly, as if the actual night sky had been moved there.
Below it sat an altar gleaming with a strange luster, and a throne looking down on all under heaven.
Leaning askew on an armrest, the Heavenly Demon Emperor stared at a point in the empty space with a languid gaze.
At the end of his gaze, a black figure stood tall in the pitch-black darkness.
His aura, forged like a sharp sword, seemed united with the darkness.
It was the Night Soul Blood Lord Im Mujeong, who had returned from Gwigeumdo.
"You are fast."
The Heavenly Demon Emperor murmured quietly.
"I had thought it would take a good ten years to suppress the madness encroaching on your mind."
His voice was quiet, but it carried a resonance that seemed to fill the entire hall without a gap.
"I suppose you found an unexpected stroke of fortune."
An interest akin to admiring a well-forged sword lingered in his tone.
As expected, he had not discarded Im Mujeong.
He had simply sheathed a blade engulfed in uncontrollable madness, waiting for him to master the madness himself and emerge.
"The Night Soul Blood Lord, Im Mujeong."
Im Mujeong offered a polite bow.
"Greets the Supreme One."
He then rose again and spoke in an upright posture.
"And."
His voice was cracked but resolute.
"I challenge you."
In an instant, the air filling the interior coldly condensed.
Remaining silent while leaning on his chair, the Heavenly Demon Emperor wore a faint sneer.
He then thoroughly scrutinized Im Mujeong's entire body with a pair of deep, profound eyes.
"Say such things only after you have severed the head of the one who defeated you."
He had guessed everything.
That Im Mujeong had been defeated by someone, and through that, he had been able to control the demonic energy of the mad demon.
And the challenge issued to him as well.
It was nothing more than a struggle to reclaim an ego that had been broken until now.
"I may lose to others, but I will not lose to you."
A mad light flashed in Im Mujeong's eyes.
"Because I know a weakness that no one else knows."
Silence flowed for a moment.
There was not a single trace of agitation on the Heavenly Demon Emperor's expression.
Rather, what surfaced on his face was a somewhat bored smile.
"If you are so certain."
The Heavenly Demon Emperor tilted his head.
With just that small movement, a pressure that seemed to warp the surrounding space rushed out.
"Why are you watching without making a move?"
In that instant, Im Mujeong's eyes grew complicated.
Because a question had occurred to him: was his learning of the weakness intentional?
The Heavenly Demon Emperor had ruled the martial world for decades and had never once fully revealed his whereabouts.
For him to accidentally expose information about a fatal weakness to a subordinate of his secret organization?
'No, that cannot be.'
The Heavenly Demon Emperor was not a god.
The process by which he obtained this information was a continuous string of coincidences. It was a situation the Heavenly Demon Emperor could not have been involved in or intervened in.
'However… I have already lost.'
He had tried to shake the Heavenly Demon Emperor's mind by dropping unexpected information, but it was he himself who had grown distracted.
Whether he challenged him or not, the outcome was already decided in the end.
"I shall give you an opportunity."
Reading his psychological shift, the Heavenly Demon Emperor smiled languidly.
Flutter.
Suddenly, a parchment scroll appeared silently from the pitch-black darkness and flew before Im Mujeong.
Unrolling the scroll and reading the words written on it, Im Mujeong's eyebrows twitched.
"A matter of the Sacred Domain?"
There was only one matter the Heavenly Demon Emperor peculiarly avoided stepping into personally.
It was matters related to the Sacred Domain.
"The choice is yours."
Im Mujeong, having read all the contents on the scroll, said,
"Even knowing it is a trap?"
"Do I look like someone who enjoys failure?"
The Heavenly Demon Emperor snorted.
"It is merely part of the plan."
The meaning of those words was twofold.
First, that he was deliberately sending him despite knowing he would fail from the start.
And second, that Im Mujeong… was a disposable pawn who could be discarded at any time.
"Figure out who staged this event and what they want… and if you can kill them, kill them and return."
The Heavenly Demon Emperor added.
"If… you bring back the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl, I will not only give you the strength to challenge me, but I will consider your past debts settled."
Clench.
Im Mujeong clenched his fists tightly.
There was no room for choice.
He had not yet repaid his debt.
As long as he could not repay it, Im Mujeong was nothing more than a cold lump of iron… forced to cut whatever his master aimed him at.
* * *
The place where the Myriad Phenomena Tomb appeared was not the edge of the world or some mysterious region off the map.
Paradoxically, it was springing up in places like bustling provincial capitals or the well-sides of rural villages frequented by people.
Because the rift in that space was only created in places where the wavelengths of people mixed.
However, entering the Myriad Phenomena Tomb was known to be possible only for experts of the Limitless Realm who had completed a lifetime's ultimate technique.
It was said this was because only Limitless Power transcending martial arts could detect its flow and rift.
―'Soyo.'
Bu Eunseol had Soyo stand by at this location.
He then used sound transmission for a long time to converse with her.
―'Understood. I will wait here for now.'
Having finished his conversation with Soyo, Bu Eunseol entered the Myriad Phenomena Tomb that had appeared in a remote mountain village, just as Baek Jeoncheon had instructed.
Thump.
Upon entering the interior, all sound and color vanished.
With the sensation of the ground giving way beneath his feet, he felt as if he were falling somewhere.
'Is the space separating downward?'
Bu Eunseol was clearly standing still, but the sensation of constantly falling spread through him.
'Perhaps the barrier utilizes the principle of this Myriad Phenomena Tomb.'
Tap.
At last, with the feeling of touching down on the ground, the scenery all around changed.
Both sky and earth were entirely ashen gray.
Without a single light like the sun or moon, the entire space glowed faintly on its own, and a foreign pressure, incomparable to the gravity of the Land of the Limitless, poured down.
This was not physical gravity, but the oppressive feeling felt when tempering one's spirit.
'Is it poison?'
Furthermore, the air was terribly heavy, and with every breath, it felt as though something like hard stones was blocking his airway.
Crunch, crunch.
Bu Eunseol, who had been walking for a long time, furrowed his brow. The shapes of the strange rocks filling the plains were extremely unique.
'Are these postures of martial arts?'
Looking closely, the strange rocks were all in postures as if performing martial arts.
Martial arts turned to stone.
All the forms and martial skills that had existed in the martial world for thousands of years were scattered like statues, hardened in shape.
'The Seven Blood Tear Forms?'
Bu Eunseol's eyes, which had been closely examining them, flashed.
Sharp blade marks were distinctly left on the strange rocks filling the surroundings.
They were none other than the traces of his grandfather's exclusive blade art, the Seven Blood Tear Forms.
'It has not been long.'
It was impossible to know how old the strange rocks were.
However, these sharp marks carved into them… had been made barely an hour ago.
'A greatblade.'
Bu Eunseol, who examined the depth and width of the blade marks, the smoothness of the cuts, and the angles and cross-sections in turn, read the fact that the weapon that left the traces was a massive greatblade weighing over a hundred geun…
'With a long hilt.'
Through the left trajectories, seeing that the rotation angle of the wrist differed from normal, he was able to deduce that the hilt of the blade was abnormally long.
'Journey.'
There were countless greatblades in the world, but there was only one blade possessing such a magnificent hilt.
There was nothing other than Journey, his grandfather's exclusive weapon, completed by combining a blade body with a short sword.
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