"Enter!"
The one who appeared to be the leader of the hundred masked men charged with a shout like an evil spirit.
The elders and elite disciples of the Divine Water Palace joined forces to fight, but they were pushed back helplessly in the face of the opponents' bizarre martial arts.
The masked men evaded attacks by a hairsbreadth, bending their joints bizarrely like ghosts in a nightmare as they poured out their own attacks.
Whenever the disciples of the Divine Water Palace used the Water God Energy, the masked men poured out a black fog-like power that neutralized its force.
Crack!
Eventually, a crack formed in a section of the Crystal Water Heaven Wall.
The masked men battered the cracked section relentlessly, trying to force their way into the Divine Water Palace.
Terror seized the disciples before that fearsome momentum, and they either slumped down or milled about in confusion.
"Haaap!"
Watching this, Gongsun Dana drew upon her Crystal Divine Energy with all her might and unfolded the Crystal Water Flower Garden toward the surging enemies.
Bubble, bubble.
In an instant, transparent water droplets bloomed around the masked men and formed in the air.
Paaat!
The water droplets suddenly expanded rapidly and swallowed their bodies whole in a single breath.
The pressure inside was beyond imagination, dreadful enough to seemingly burst flesh and bone, making it impossible to even take a proper breath.
Boil, boil.
But at some point, the inside of the water droplets began to boil,
Crash!
With an explosion, the Crystal Water Flower Garden shattered completely.
'How.'
Gongsun Dana stared with her eyes wide open, her expression full of disbelief.
Crystal Divine Energy was not only sticky by nature but also harbored the energy of purification.
Because it could crush wicked martial arts and sorcery, those who wielded such energies could never face it head-on.
Their techniques clearly carried an intensely wicked energy.
How on earth could they break through the Crystal Water Flower Garden imbued with the power of Crystal Divine Energy and escape?
Rumble.
Meanwhile, the crack in the Crystal Water Heaven Wall stretched across the palace grew larger, and the masked men were swarming toward the rift like a swarm of bees.
In the end, shedding blood, the disciples began to collapse helplessly.
"Stop!"
At that moment, a voice as cold as ice and sharp as a blade cut through the battlefield.
The eyes of the crowd all turned toward the sky.
Wasn't Neung Gyeong, the Divine Water Palace Master who should have been lying on her sickbed, floating in the air with a rigid posture?
Upon hearing the miserable screams of her disciples, she became enraged and immediately came outside.
"How dare you."
As she saw her disciples collapsed and bleeding, blue killing intent bloomed like a flame in her eyes.
At the same time, transparent energy that seemed to fill the entire Divine Water Palace was stretching out from the ground.
Vwoom.
Neung Gyeong reached her hand out toward the sky.
Then, the radiant lights spewing up over the earth began to gather into her hands.
The authority of the Divine Water Palace Master.
She was condensing not only the Crystal Divine Energy within her body but all the mighty Water God Energy flowing around the Divine Water Palace.
Vwoom, vwoom!
Finally, as she extended her hand,
Paaaa!
Hundreds of transparent hands were launched toward the masked men.
―'Urgh.'
―'Argh.'
The masked men struck by those transparent hands began to vomit blood along with their screams.
They seemed like nothing more than hand-shaped shadows, mere illusions.
In truth they contained a mighty force capable of turning even Mount Tai to dust.
"Stop the Divine Water Palace Master!"
From the center of the masked men's formation, a pitch-black radiance erupted explosively.
They became black shields writhing like living creatures, clashing in midair with the hundreds of transparent hands Neung Gyeong had fired.
Rumble.
As the divine energy imbued with the power of water clashed against the wicked energy, the space at the point of impact distorted, and a deafening roar echoed.
Neung Gyeong, who could control the Water God Energy flowing around the Divine Water Palace, was invincible at least in this place.
Blue light rose like mist from her entire body.
The transparent hands that had been broken and shattered against the masked men's black shields were instantly restored.
Instead, their numbers began to multiply exponentially.
Paaaa!
Before long, an army of countless transparent hands had formed above the masked men's heads, large enough to completely fill their vision.
Boom, boom, boom!
As they rained down, pained groans burst from the mouths of the masked men.
They pushed their wicked energy to the absolute limit to make their black shields even thicker.
They could not withstand the pressure constricting them from all sides and the transparent hands pouring down without pause.
"How dare you touch the disciples of this palace!"
Neung Gyeong's power was truly stretching out limitlessly.
She was single-handedly holding back the masked men that even a thousand disciples could not handle.
Crack, craaack!
Cracks began to form on the black shields the masked men had created, and their ironclad formation collapsed uncontrollably as they were pushed back.
The Crystal Divine Energy welled up without end, and she shaped it into transparent hands.
With them, Neung Gyeong was not merely attacking the masked men, but dominating the space where they maintained their formation.
"Retreat!"
In the end, the leader ordered a retreat.
Hearing that, Neung Gyeong shouted.
"Do you think you can leave as you please!"
Paaat!
She reached both hands toward the sky.
The transparent hands scattered in all directions shot up into the sky all at once.
They all turned into streams of water soaring toward the heavens,
Kaaaa!
Pouring down like a waterfall, they formed the Golden Lock Formation Studies, sealing off the entire surrounding area.
"I will not let a single one escape!"
Paaaa!
The walls of transparent water streams pouring from the sky were so hard and sticky that nothing could cut them.
"Shatter it!"
The masked men tried to break the wall of Crystal Divine Energy.
Because of its soft nature, it did not break no matter how forcefully they struck it.
When they tried to break through with their bodies using its soft nature, it suddenly turned hard and sticky.
Crack.
Neung Gyeong waved her hand again.
The moisture in the air condensed and soon turned into thousands of crystal shards.
Papapapat!
They rained down on the masked men like sharp hidden weapons.
Clang, clang, clang.
They swiftly swung their swords to deflect them.
Unable to block the terrifying power contained within, they retreated endlessly.
"Scatter!"
The masked man who appeared to be the leader,
Vwooong!
Suddenly pulled a bizarre flag from his robes and waved it roughly toward the sky.
Swish, swish, swish!
Then, matching his command, his subordinates also moved in unison, beginning to form a unique array.
Ziiiing.
Bizarre radiance spread in all directions from their bodies.
"Combine!"
The moment the leader thrust the flag into the ground,
Flash!
A blinding radiance that seemed ready to swallow the whole world erupted in all directions.
Paaaa!
Concentric vibration waves stretched out for dozens of jang.
Rumble. Woooo.
At last the light and the vibration waves vanished, along with a tremor that shook the earth's axis.
The hundred or so masked men trapped within the Golden Lock Formation Studies of water streams had also vanished without a trace in an instant.
"The Mind World."
Neung Gyeong sighed deeply, looking at the place where the vanished masked men had been.
"It was the Three Realms after all."
They had not merely unleashed simple martial arts.
They had mixed and activated formation arts capable of revealing the Mind World, and they could not face the Crystal Divine Energy head-on.
So in the end they escaped in a single breath by shattering their own Mind World.
Float.
Neung Gyeong, who had been floating in the air like an immortal, slowly descended back to the ground.
Splurt.
And she spat out a lump of pitch-black blood.
Having forced herself up from her sickbed and overexerted herself, her qi and blood had twisted, causing a deep internal injury.
'I do not even have the time to sit down.'
She gritted her teeth.
If she continued lying on her sickbed like this, the Divine Water Palace would fall into danger once again.
Because they would surely invade again.
'Must I bring out the secret arts of this palace in the end.'
The Water God Energy flowing from the Divine Water Palace could be absorbed and used by anyone.
But the Crystal Divine Energy could only be used by those born with the right constitution.
Because of this, the Divine Water Palace had for generations created martial arts to supplement the Water God Energy.
Along with them, it had created secret arts that would allow ordinary disciples to use Crystal Divine Energy.
However, the process of learning those secret arts was so grueling that it demanded risking one's life.
They had not gone out of their way to pass them on to the disciples.
But the current martial world had already plunged into an abnormal flow, and the Divine Water Palace was also in a situation where it could not avoid that massive calamity.
She could no longer afford to hesitate.
In order to stop the impending disaster and calamity, she had to train her disciples and build their strength.
"Palace Master."
Just then, as Gongsun Dana carefully approached Neung Gyeong's side with a worried expression,
"I am fine."
She was exuding an overwhelming momentum, as if she had never been on a sickbed.
"The current martial world is in a volatile state, and we never know when or what faction will invade this palace again!"
Neung Gyeong normally used gentle and polite speech even with her disciples.
Right now, she was using an incredibly resolute and intense tone.
"From now on, we must begin rigorous training!"
She had to make a stronger Divine Water Palace.
The weak and sentimental Palace Master no longer existed.
* * *
A place hundreds of li away from the Divine Water Palace.
Deep within a mountain range, beneath a cliff that even sunlight could not reach, lay a small cave.
It was silent, as if completely cut off from the world, and a damp energy flowed as if pressing down from all directions.
On the outside, it looked like an ordinary cave naturally formed in a crevice of the rocks, but inside it was actually hollowed out broadly enough for dozens of people to gather.
Step, step.
Footsteps cutting through the darkness echoed, and figures hiding their faces with masks entered the cave one by one.
Their steps staggered.
Fresh blood dripped endlessly from various parts of their clothes, leaving red marks on the cold, damp floor.
Haaa.
As soon as they entered, they rested their hands on their knees and gasped roughly for breath.
Huff, urgh.
Those following behind did the same, entering the cave while trembling uncontrollably.
"Damn it, I almost died."
Deepest inside the cave, in the lightless pitch black, a shadow darker and deeper still was cast.
It seemed to drink in every trace of the surrounding light.
The shadow, whose form could not even be seen clearly, remained utterly motionless like a giant tree.
It was none other than Bu Eunseol.
"Command Lord."
The masked men all knelt before him in unison.
"All personnel have returned safely."
The voices of the corps members echoed inside the cave.
"Though the disciples of the Divine Water Palace were heavily injured, not a single one lost their life."
The masked men who had attacked the Divine Water Palace.
They were none other than three combat squads of the Death Shadow Corps led by Won Semun, Jo Namcheon, and Wi Cheongyeong.
The martial artists of the Death Shadow Corps.
They had previously defeated three thousand elite Blood Cult martial artists with a force of only three hundred, proving they were the strongest among small-scale combat squads.
And they proved it once again.
They had attacked and pushed the Divine Water Palace to the brink with only a hundred or so members.
"We almost died due to the appearance of the Divine Water Palace Master, but fortunately we were able to safely escape thanks to the power of the Mind's Eye art."
Though they spoke like that, the members' conditions were miserable.
Particularly, those struck directly by the Divine Water Palace Master's Crystal Divine Energy had a faint chill rising from their bodies, and their skin had turned blueish.
"You have worked hard."
Nodding, Bu Eunseol drew upon the Endless Heavenly Light Art.
As he slowly raised his hand, the air inside began to waver, and a low hum echoed.
At the same time, an energy came forth that was sparkling yet dark.
Warm yet cold, it flowed slowly into the meridians of the Death Shadow Corps martial artists.
Vwoom, vwoom, vwoom.
Then their blueish skin regained its original color, and the Crystal Divine Energy stagnating within their bodies was instantly expelled outward.
'The wonders of Crystal Divine Energy are truly endless.'
Bu Eunseol, pouring out the Endless Heavenly Light Art, could not help but admire it inwardly.
It had been so ever since he created the Endless Heavenly Light Art.
He had never once unleashed the Crystal Divine Energy as a single attribute.
It possessed various functions along with its power of purification.
But he had judged its might too weak to use in combat.
However, after seeing Neung Gyeong's Crystal Divine Energy, Bu Eunseol realized his thoughts had been grossly mistaken.
Crystal Divine Energy was not weak in might.
It was simply that its method of operation should have been different.
'What if Palace Master Neung had been ruthless and severed their meridians with that transparent Crystal Divine Energy? The members would not have survived whole.'
"Thank you, Command Lord."
As all the Crystal Divine Energy digging into their meridians was expelled, the members once again expressed their gratitude.
"But will this really be alright?"
Just then, Wi Cheongyeong spoke up.
"If we do not clearly reveal our true identities, the Divine Water Palace will be constantly on edge, endlessly wary of the Three Realms."
Despite being a women's sect, the Divine Water Palace had never once suffered an external invasion.
Moreover, of late they had the information Bu Eunseol provided.
Even though they were not active in the martial world, they had a more accurate grasp of the current martial world's situation than anyone else.
The Divine Water Palace had always maintained its peace, and now it had been ambushed by unknown forces.
That alone would have been an unbearable shock.
"That is correct."
Bu Eunseol nodded.
"The Divine Water Palace must remain on edge for the rest of their lives."
"Yes?"
"For generations, the Divine Water Palace has lived on fertile land without a single worry."
His low voice rang softly within the cave.
"But in the current situation of the martial world, if they maintain their complacent state, they will easily collapse under the attacks of abyssal forces like the Three Realms."
Though the martial world seemed peaceful now, it was a volatile situation.
Particularly, the Three Realms had always desired the Four Divine Energies and were scheming various plots.
Now, the Divine Water Palace had to change as well.
"Because of this incident, Palace Master Neung will overhaul the Divine Water Palace's defense system and train her disciples to prepare for the next attack."
Bu Eunseol placed his hands behind his back with a solemn expression.
And this was the true intent behind the letter his grandfather had left.
To sever the longing and affection that were the cause of her weakening, and to trigger the Divine Water Palace Master's anger and will to live.
That was the wonder drug for the sickly Palace Master Neung to recover her health and live a long time, and his grandfather's heart.
* * *
A hot wind blew against Gongsun Dana's cheeks as she stood at the entrance of the Fire Soul Land.
Bizarre volcanic rocks protruded over the earth shrouded in red mist.
Among them, red flowers bloomed like unextinguishable flames.
The whole landscape seemed to burn with all the sorrow and resentment of the world condensed into it.
Gongsun Dana closed her eyes for a moment and recalled the nightmare-like bloody battle that had taken place at the Divine Water Palace not long ago.
Then a strange sense of déjà vu circled in her mind.
It was because of that bizarre formation art the masked men had completed through their array.
'That method of breaking down the boundary between reality and illusion to plunge the opponent into chaos, and instantly disappearing.'
Gongsun Dana bit her lip.
'It was similar to the ancient secret art my older sister used in the past.'
Her older sister, Gongsun Dankyung, was the Chief Steward of the Azure Sky Alliance.
Not long ago she had fused an ancient secret art provided by the Martial Soul Command Lord with their family's secret formation art.
And she had further strengthened the formation installed around the Gongsun family.
The ancient secret art she had used then was incredibly similar to the method of the Mind World used by the unidentified masked men who had ambushed the Divine Water Palace.
'Of course, it could just be a coincidence. But.'
When the Divine Water Palace was ambushed, a miracle-like event occurred.
Her master, Neung Gyeong, who had been as precarious as a dying candle, rose from her sickbed like a phoenix.
'Master recovering was no coincidence.'
Due to this incident, the sorrow and helplessness that had always filled her master's eyes completely vanished.
And a powerful Crystal Divine Energy that seemed ready to swallow the world in one breath was being unleashed.
As if she had never suffered a severe illness, she completely recovered her body and regained her vitality by personally training the disciples.
In that moment, Gongsun Dana realized.
That her master's illness was not an illness of the flesh.
'An illness deeply rooted in the heart.'
There was the longing for the one she had loved all her life, and the sense of loss at having let him go in the end.
And there was the helplessness of knowing that nothing could be done unless she turned back time.
All of it was slowly eating away even the flame of her life.
But then a deadly poison was injected into her, the poison of an enemy from outside.
It was a peril so grave that she could not spare a single thought for longing.
When the responsibility to protect her disciples as the Palace Master mixed with anger toward the enemy.
She instantly recovered her body and stood up again.
'What Master needed was not medicine, but a reason to live.'
Gongsun Dana finally understood.
Why Bu Eunseol hid the letter of the Seven-Finger Demon Blade, and why his tone and attitude had changed so coldly.
'To give Master the strength to live.'
At the time, she lost her reason and was filled only with anger out of the desire to save her master.
But now she thought about it calmly.
Every circumstance back then had been suspicious and out of place.
"Huu."
Gongsun Dana let out a long breath and opened her eyes.
Waking from her reminiscence, she took a step forward.
She meant to find out the plain truth.
She was once again heading to find the Fire Soul Land Lord.
Having unleashed her movement technique, Gongsun Dana moved her steps toward the deep part of the Fire Soul Land, where the One-Eyed Immortal resided.
There was not a sliver of hesitation in her steps walking over the blazing earth.
Finally, beyond the red mist, she saw the back of the One-Eyed Immortal, sitting alone and caressing a flower that bloomed like a flame.
'Her face.'
Gongsun Dana was greatly surprised.
Back then, she had been a bizarre and hideous old woman.
One eye was still veiled behind her long hair.
But wasn't her face now that of a middle-aged beauty so exquisite that she would not tip the scales even a hair if set beside her master?
Gongsun Dana approached her and bowed politely.
"Immortal."
"Why have you come?"
The One-Eyed Immortal spoke coldly.
"Do you really wish to die that you've come again?"
Her voice was harsh, but there was no hostility or killing intent.
Gongsun Dana bowed respectfully once more.
"Thanks to you, Immortal, my master has overcome her illness and recovered her body."
"Why is that thanks to me?"
"Because it is the truth."
Her voice was calm, but a steel-like will was contained within it.
"Now, please tell me the truth."
Silence flowed for a moment.
The One-Eyed Immortal let out a deep sigh.
"You are quick."
"Yes?"
"When I was young, I had neither your wisdom nor your insight. That is why I failed to realize the sacrifice and consideration of the one I loved."
"..."
"Thinking about it now, the reason Neung Gyeong and I were not able to be with him was... probably because both of us failed to understand his heart."
"Then the letter..."
The One-Eyed Immortal spoke honestly.
"That is correct. He wrote it hoping that the weak-hearted Neung Gyeong would live strongly."
Bu Zhanyang knew all too well that Neung Gyeong lacked the courage to abandon everything and choose him.
And he knew that this would remain a lifelong regret in Neung Gyeong's heart.
Bu Zhanyang had made this request to the One-Eyed Immortal.
―'Neung Gyeong. She is weak both in body and mind.'
As she ages, her frail body will not be able to hold out.
When that time comes, you must create a reason for her to live tenaciously.
In truth, the Crystal Divine Energy only seemed to be a yin energy, while it actually held the power of true yang.
It was not a very good energy for a woman's body.
Because of this, the Palace Masters of the Divine Water Palace had been in poor health for generations, and there were more than a few who died young.
And Neung Gyeong more than any of them had been born with a frail constitution.
Bu Zhanyang had left a request with Yang Yeong so that Neung Gyeong could live a long life.
And he left a letter in the Divine Water Palace saying he had left medicine there.
But Neung Gyeong had abandoned even the desire to live a long time, and eventually, her disciple Gongsun Dana came to the Fire Soul Land.
"But the grandson was much more thoughtful than his grandfather."
Bu Eunseol had grasped the whole situation the moment he saw the letter.
In Yang Yeong's place, he disguised the Death Shadow Corps martial artists as Three Realms troops and struck the Divine Water Palace.
He feared that things might yet go wrong.
And so he made himself into a cold-hearted man in Gongsun Dana's eyes.
"So that was it."
Gongsun Dana, all her questions finally answered, formed a faint smile.
"He appears cold-blooded, but in truth, he is an incredibly affectionate grandson."
Bu Zhanyang, Bu Eunseol.
These two were as if pressed from the same mold.
They were cold-blooded on the outside, but boundlessly affectionate within.
"Yes. That is right."
Staring at the distant sky, the One-Eyed Immortal spoke to Gongsun Dana.
"So, absolutely do not let him go."
Those words were also addressed to her own past self...
To the self who had not considered the feelings of the one she loved, and had valued only her own emotions.
Gongsun Dana shook her head.
"I will not hold onto him."
"Do you intend to be prideful even after seeing your master?"
"No."
Gongsun Dana smiled brightly.
"I have already held a wedding with him, haven't I?"
For a moment, the One-Eyed Immortal wore a blank expression. Then, a smile slowly began to spread on her lips.
"Will you be satisfied with that?"
"Of course. He is not a man who would deny a wedding ceremony... so aren't we already virtually a formal married couple?"
Gongsun Dana revealed her even teeth and smiled brightly.
The smile hanging on her lips was indescribably beautiful.
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