Bzzzzzt.
Right then, a sensation like sparks flying erupted from within his robes, along with a tingling feeling in his wrist.
The Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl he had previously obtained from the Divine Beast Palace Lord was suddenly resonating with the Dragon-Phoenix Ring he wore on his wrist.
'Why.'
Even as his consciousness grew faint, a question surged within Bu Eunseol.
The Dragon-Phoenix Ring was an imperial treasure, and the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl was a treasure of the martial world.
But why of all times were they reacting violently to each other now?
Clack.
The Dragon-Phoenix Ring not only adjusted its length on its own according to the user's physique, but it also reacted to internal energy.
As he infused his internal energy, the Dragon-Phoenix Ring that had been tightly stuck to his wrist loosened its length with a metallic sound.
Vwoom.
With that, the vibration of the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl inside his robes grew even stronger. Bu Eunseol struggled to take out the iron box he carried and opened it.
Whirrr.
The Dragon-Phoenix Ring suddenly changed its shape, forming a space like a round hole on the wide surface of the bracelet.
It seemed to be telling him to store the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl in this place.
Click.
As he placed the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl in there,
Ssk.
The Dragon-Phoenix Ring swallowed it in an instant, then turned into the shape of a thick, ordinary iron bracelet and began to wrap firmly around Bu Eunseol's wrist.
Now, unless his wrist was cut off, there was no way to remove this bracelet.
And no one would know that the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl was stored inside it.
Such a phenomenon had occurred because the power of the Baekri Family within his body was awakening little by little, and a treasure that would one day react with the True Demon's remains had been completed.
But right now, he did not know such a fact.
"It's exactly like a living creature."
Bu Eunseol muttered in a low voice, then slowly closed his eyes as everything grew distant.
Crunch, crunch.
In his hazy consciousness, he felt the sensation of his bones shrinking and his muscles melting away.
Suddenly the world became enormous, and he felt as if he were becoming smaller.
His eyes, which had contained the storms of the martial world, were soon filled with innocence, and his firm muscles disappeared in an instant.
Bu Eunseol's body simultaneously harbored the destructive power of the Soul Demon Dharma Energy and the creative power of the Profound Divine Technique Qi.
When the two powers, which normally maintained a perfect balance, went berserk at the same time under the external shock of the Chains of Samsara, they transformed into a power of 'regression' that returned everything to the past.
Ssssh.
Bu Eunseol, who had lost consciousness, was now in the form of a young boy who looked barely ten years old.
He collapsed onto the pure white snowfield.
Ziiiing.
Because of the Profound Divine Technique Qi, the mysterious light flowing from his body, the surrounding snow became a cozy blanket.
And the radiance flowing from his body soared into the ashen sky.
How much time had passed?
Whoosh.
A corner of the sky split open ever so slightly, and a blindingly pure white point of light fell like a meteor.
The shadow that touched the snowfield without a sound was a beauty in white holding a silk umbrella.
Mysteriously, not a single flurry of snow fluttered around where she stood.
"To think that one who carries the blood of the main family would recklessly reveal himself to the outside world like this."
The woman looked at the light flowing from the body of the boy, Bu Eunseol, who had collapsed unconscious on the snowfield, and coldly clicked her tongue.
"Moreover, this faint Profound Divine Technique Qi..."
Within that voice, a faint pity was mixed along with reprimand.
"In the end, you entered the gap in the boundary and committed a foolish act."
As the woman, who looked at his face with the umbrella tilted, made a hand gesture,
Float.
Bu Eunseol's small body rose into the air like a feather.
And just as she had come here, she disappeared into the distant sky without a trace.
'Ugh.'
Bu Eunseol, who caught the clear and cool scent brushing the tip of his nose, slowly opened his eyes.
"Ugh."
He tried to raise his body, but his limbs did not listen properly.
"Uuuugh."
As he barely raised his body, he saw the scenery inside a small thatched cottage.
Tea was boiling in a kettle placed on a brazier, and the household goods were all dyed in antique colors.
Creak.
When he came outside, he saw the scenery atop a dizzying cliff where a sea of clouds spread out beneath his feet like waves.
It felt as though if he reached out from the edge of the cliff, he could touch the flowing clouds.
"Just where is..."
Bu Eunseol, who grabbed his head, soon realized that his field of vision had become far too low.
"Ack."
Looking down at his hands, he was so surprised his eyes nearly popped out.
Not only was he wearing old hemp clothes, but hadn't his body become astonishingly small?
'Could it be.'
Dash.
Feeling a sense of foreboding, he quickly entered the thatched cottage again and checked his surroundings.
Fortunately, there was a small bronze mirror on the table, and he could see his face in it.
'Rejuvenation?'
Before he knew it, he had transformed into the appearance of a boy barely ten years old.
His skin was like snowflakes, and his lips flowed with a red radiance as if petals were placed on them.
'No, that's not it.'
If he had experienced the phenomenon of rejuvenation, there was no way his hair would turn white.
Moreover, his internal energy and the Three Divine Energies had all disappeared from his body, and a very faint but sticky power remained.
It was not circulating within his body.
Rather, it felt as though an existence with immense power was clinging to his skin.
"Where is the Silent Tiger Soul Sword?"
Bu Eunseol, who hastily looked around, discovered the treasure-robe given by Yoo Unryong hanging on one side of the wall.
The Silent Tiger Soul Sword was placed obediently beneath that wall.
"It became small."
The treasure-robe was fitted to Bu Eunseol's shrunken body.
"Well, it is a treasure-robe that restores its own damaged fabric."
As Bu Eunseol's body grew smaller, it seemed to have changed to fit that physique.
And on the nearby table, the spirit medicines he had possessed were placed exactly as they were.
"Just what happened here."
Around the time he put on the treasure-robe and put away the spirit medicines and the Silent Tiger Soul Sword again,
Tap.
A low sound was heard from outside.
Bu Eunseol immediately opened the door and went outside.
Then, a beauty wearing clothes as white as snowflakes was walking toward the thatched cottage.
At that moment, as if time had stopped, absolute silence wrapped the space.
If a single white plum blossom blooming in the snow were born as a human, would it look like that?
Her silver hair, which seemed to have directly drawn up the flowing moonlight, was tied back as one.
Her pure white nape and a nose bridge stretching straight without the slightest deviation were revealed, drawing perfect lines like a cold sculpture.
Above her flawlessly transparent skin without a single trace of blood, only her lips, which seemed to have bitten a red petal, carried the sole color.
She was a woman of truly immaculate beauty, the kind that all men in this world might have drawn in their dreams at least once.
"You've woken up."
The woman in white sighed upon seeing Bu Eunseol, who was opening his eyes round in front of the thatched cottage.
"Do not worry. I haven't reported it to the main family yet."
Then, she spoke in a low voice as if telling an old tale.
"Actually, it is not uncommon for children to discover the gap in the boundary out of curiosity when they are young and occasionally run outside."
She spoke with a gentle yet solemn gaze, like reasoning with an immature nephew.
"But if you break through that boundary and go out, you have to pay a harsh price. Like you."
"..."
"Because in the end, you lose most of your power."
Bu Eunseol was confused.
The main family? The gap in the boundary?
He couldn't understand even half of what this woman was saying.
It felt as if she were talking about laws completely different from the world he knew.
"Could it be that you, young lady..."
Just as Bu Eunseol opened his mouth,
Vwooong.
Suddenly, a sharp and bizarre piercing sound spread from the distant sky.
It was a sound on an entirely different level from qinggong, as if space itself were being folded on the approach.
"Oh dear."
The expression of the woman in white hardened slightly.
"There should still be plenty of time left, so why on earth?"
After being lost in deep thought for a moment, she gave a short command toward Bu Eunseol.
"You are my attendant from now on. Do not ask any questions, and stand behind me with a polite posture."
A majesty that could not be refused was etched in her voice.
Before Bu Eunseol could answer,
Rumble!
A white lightning bolt struck down from the distant sky, and three shadows were descending silently from the sky.
They were grotesque figures without a single trace of human presence, wearing ritual robes engraved with bizarre patterns and masks that covered their entire faces.
"The time has come."
The one who appeared to be the leader among the masked men spoke in an exceedingly polite, yet low and dry voice.
"Please make your preparations."
"I was aware that a period of three months remained."
At the words of the woman in white, the masked man shook his head.
"The heavenly secrets have changed."
Then he spoke with an exceedingly solemn expression.
"We shall escort you."
"Are you saying right now?"
As the woman in white's eyes sparkled, the masked man bowed his head politely.
"That is correct. Midnight is approaching... there is no time."
"It is sudden."
"We apologize."
The woman in white calmly nodded her head.
"It can't be helped. I understand."
At that moment, the gazes of the masked men turned to the small boy, Bu Eunseol, standing behind her.
"And that child?"
They continuously scanned his body with gazes as cold and persistent as ice.
"Who is that child?"
"He is my attendant."
"An attendant?"
As the masked man's gaze fixed upon the Silent Tiger Soul Sword that Bu Eunseol was wearing, the woman in white remained composed.
"He is a child I have kept by my side since the main family. Whenever I had time, I taught him martial arts, as well as astronomy and geography."
At the nonchalant answer, the eyes of the masked men flashed for a moment, then,
"Understood. Since there is no time, you should take him along."
"You mean this child as well?"
"You are well aware that if you are with someone at the moment the heavenly secrets manifest, they become bound to the same destiny, are you not?"
"But."
"Young lady. There are absolutely no exceptions in this matter. If there were, everything would go awry."
At the masked man's words, the woman nodded her head as if it couldn't be helped.
"I understand."
Float.
As if they had become immortals, they rose into the empty air with their bodies held straight.
"It can't be helped."
The woman in white, who was looking at Bu Eunseol, reached out her hand. Then Bu Eunseol also began to rise into the empty air.
Ssssh.
The woman in white, keeping her body straight, took Bu Eunseol and began to fly through the sky.
Bu Eunseol, now a young boy without any power, was drawn along by the invisible force the woman in white extended, floating behind them like a doll.
Bu Eunseol, looking at the woman in white traversing the endlessly spreading sea of clouds, could be certain.
'She was indeed a person of the Baekri Family.'
The divine energy flowing from her body was none other than the Profound Divine Technique Qi.
The woman in white was a person of the Baekri Family.
And it was clear she had mistaken him, who was collapsed on the snowfield, for a member of the Baekri Family and brought him along.
'Then it means the faint power in my body is the Profound Divine Technique Qi.'
[Just where are we going?]
He clearly had no internal energy, but mysteriously, when he tried to use sound transmission, it came easily.
[We are heading to the Ten Thousand Dragons Cave.]
The woman, who glanced at Bu Eunseol, sent a sound transmission.
[The people of the main family can use the Dragon Transformation Manifestation thanks to the contract forged with the Primeval Dragon.]
Bu Eunseol opened his eyes wide.
A contract with the Primeval Dragon?
Wasn't that the information about the Primeval Dragon he had obtained earlier through the Baekri Family's secret vault?
'Could it be that the Primeval Dragon was not something symbolic, but a real dragon?'
[Is the Primeval Dragon a person, or a dragon?]
At Bu Eunseol's words, the woman in white fell silent.
Then she looked at the masked men flying ahead and shook her head.
[You will come to know it anyway once you are grown.]
Her expression was calm, but her gaze had sunk deep and grown heavy.
'There seems to be some deep history.'
Because the woman in white's expression was too dark, Bu Eunseol could not ask any further.
Before long, the woman in white and the masked men arrived at an even deeper and more secretive place in the deep mountain range untouched by human feet.
Even in the bone-chilling wind of the high mountain, the woman in white's elegance was not disturbed in the slightest.
She glanced back at the three masked men following her like shadows, then sent a sound transmission to Bu Eunseol standing beside her.
[They will leave soon. When that happens, do not delay and leave this place.]
Before Bu Eunseol could say anything, she slowly walked forward.
After walking for a long time, a waterfall appeared, looking as if the Milky Way had been pulled whole from the sky and driven into the earth.
The stream of water pouring down from a height of thousands of feet raised a thick water mist along with a roar that shook the earth.
Behind that massive curtain of water, the entrance to a cave was hidden.
And a barrier was spread out there, through which not even the greatest master under heaven could pass a single strand of hair, even if he squeezed out all his strength.
This barrier opened only once every sixty-year cycle, at midnight on the full moon when the moon's energy was most abundant in heaven and earth.
Only then did the path open, and only the direct bloodline of the Baekri Family could enter.
"Now, please unfold the Profound Divine Technique Qi."
At the masked man's words, the woman in white nodded her head and stood facing the waterfall with her back to the waxing moon.
Vwoom!
As she stretched out a hand as delicate as jade, a subtle moon-white energy bloomed from her fingertips.
Whoooosh.
Then the roar of the waterfall that shook heaven and earth died down as if it had never been.
Swoosh.
The massive stream of water began to smoothly split to both sides, as if it were a living spirit creature obeying its master's command.
Trickle.
Beads of sweat flowed on the woman's forehead, and her face instantly grew pale.
Because opening the door here was tantamount to pouring out the Profound Divine Technique Qi she had accumulated over a dozen years all at once.
But she did not stop and continuously poured out her power.
Finally, when the stream of water had completely parted,
Ssssh.
In that place, the entrance to a black and fathomless cave that seemed to suck in all light and sound revealed itself.
"Please enter."
It was an exceedingly polite, yet somehow heartless voice without a single speck of emotion mixed in.
At the masked man's words, the woman in white nodded her head, and lightly pulling Bu Eunseol's sleeve, she stepped into the cave.
The moment they entered the pitch-black darkness, the woman whispered softly once more.
[When the door leading into the Ten Thousand Dragons Cave appears, they will leave. Escape this place at that time.]
But that hope was coldly shattered.
They walked for a long time and finally reached a large entrance engraved with bizarre patterns.
Yet were the masked men not still watching them, without leaving?
"Just in case, I will say this."
One of the masked men, who had approached right behind the two before they knew it, spoke in a gloomy voice.
"Now that you have set foot in this place, no one can return. Not even that attendant."
"This child..."
The masked man spoke firmly.
"Now that he has entered the Ten Thousand Dragons Cave, there are no exceptions for anyone."
"But."
"If the young lady insists on being stubborn, we will have no choice but to take that child's life ourselves."
Bu Eunseol, who was watching that sight, carefully sent a sound transmission.
[What are they saying?]
[You don't need to know.]
[Shouldn't you tell me, so that even if I die by their hands, I won't feel wronged?]
The woman in white, who was looking at Bu Eunseol's resolute expression, let out a deep sigh.
Then she sent a sound transmission with an expression mixed with resignation and pity.
[The protection and authority the Primeval Dragon bestowed upon the main family... it is the price of maintaining that contract. Every sixty-year cycle, on the day the moon is at its fullest, one of the main family's bloodline must offer themselves.]
[Are you talking about Human Body Offering?]
He opened his eyes wide and sent a sound transmission again.
[Are you saying that you are becoming the sacrifice, young lady?]
Nod.
The woman in white nodded her head.
[Even if you return to the main family after today, you must never speak of this story.]
Bu Eunseol wore a hollow expression.
The mythic power and reputation of the Baekri Family, in the end, were maintained by offering the blood and soul of the purest bloodline in every generation as a sacrifice.
And to maintain that contract, the sacrifice for this generation had been chosen.
Namely, this frail woman right before his eyes.
[I will go with you.]
Bu Eunseol spoke to the woman with his actual voice, his eyes filled with cold resolve.
[What did you say?]
[It's fine.]
At Bu Eunseol's calm gaze, the woman's pupils shook violently.
[You are speaking nonsense because you cannot grasp the situation.]
Bu Eunseol said calmly.
[Even so, what more could happen other than death?]
The woman in white did not answer any longer.
Though it was the bearing of an iron-blooded martial artist who did not fear death, in her eyes, it only looked like the whining of an immature child.
Bu Eunseol, entirely unaware of that fact, carefully observed the bearing and movements of the masked men, as if he were facing great enemies.
Within his chest, a hot anger was already boiling like lava.
A cruel Human Body Offering packaged under the name of a noble sacrifice.
He had not the slightest intention of meekly accepting this absurd fate.
"Please enter quickly."
The masked men, who blocked the path back like an impenetrable fortress, glared at Bu Eunseol.
"Time must absolutely not be delayed."
The woman in white finally let out a long sigh, as if she had given up on everything.
"I understand. We will do so."
And she let out a deep sigh toward Bu Eunseol.
[In any case, I am sorry. The heavenly secrets suddenly fell into disarray... and I ended up dragging you into this matter.]
[It is nothing.]
As Bu Eunseol's eyes sparkled, the woman in white let out a sigh.
She seemed to think that he was still too young and innocent to properly grasp the situation.
[Do not worry. Once they leave, I will open the entrance to the Ten Thousand Dragons Cave for you again.]
Having sent a sound transmission like that, the woman in white,
Step, step.
She walked to stand before the entrance of the Ten Thousand Dragons Cave.
And as she gently waved her finger toward it,
Rumble.
The massive entrance of the cave engraved with mysterious patterns slowly began to open.
Ziiiing.
The opened entrance was veiled by a film of astral energy holding a mysterious light, seemingly a barrier formed so that only the bloodline of the Baekri Family could enter.
'I should be able to enter as well.'
Bu Eunseol moved his steps without hesitation.
As expected, he passed through the thin film with ease.
Rumble.
As the two people entered, the door of the cave closed on its own.
The interior was filled with a bizarre blue light, unlike the pitch-black outside.
Blue ores embedded here and there on the walls like scales of a massive dragon emitted light on their own, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.
How long had they walked?
The seemingly ordinary walls of the cave began to shimmer like a haze.
Instantly, bizarre illusions brushed past Bu Eunseol's eyes.
The ancient memories of the Primeval Dragon splitting heaven and earth in the midst of chaos and shaping the mountain ranges.
And... the numerous ancestors of the Baekri Family who had walked this path with eyes full of sorrow and resignation.
They were all wearing the same clothes as the woman in white before his eyes, silently heading to the altar while bearing the same destiny.
Those illusions, condensed from hundreds and thousands of years of sorrow, became a silent outcry and made Bu Eunseol's vision swim.
"Do not be afraid."
Seeing Bu Eunseol's hardened expression, the woman in white thought he had frozen in fear at the pouring illusions, and she showed him a benevolent smile.
"It is merely to engrave the weight and sacredness of the contract once more upon the one who will become the sacrifice."
'She is a young lady with a kind heart.'
From her expression and tone alone, he could guess that the woman in white's heart was as fine as silk.
'I can never tolerate something like Human Body Offering.'
No matter if it was the Baekri Family, he could not sit by and watch an act maintained on the foundation of another's life.
That was also a belief Bu Eunseol had continuously protected.
'It is also a golden opportunity to find out just what the Primeval Dragon is, and where the true seat of the Baekri Family is.'
The term Primeval Dragon was vague and rambling, and he had not been able to figure out exactly what it meant.
Moreover, that woman in white was clearly of quite high status even within the Baekri Family.
Since she believed him to be a child of the Baekri Family...
He intended to clearly find out through this opportunity what the Primeval Dragon was, and where the true seat of the Baekri Family lay.
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