With Bu Eunseol's visual power, he could see clearly through the deep shadows created by the piece of cloth worn over the head.
However, strangely enough, he could not clearly see the appearance of the man hidden in the darkness.
Ssk.
The man staring at Bu Eunseol slowly reached his hand into the empty air.
At that moment, an invisible wave spread out from his fingertips like a ripple, and the scenery of the surrounding area of several tens of li was instantly dyed in gray.
A barrier.
It had taken merely the twitch of a single hand.
He had split off and severed a space reaching tens of li.
"Do not worry."
Bu Eunseol, who was calmly observing the surroundings dyed in gray, spoke in a low voice.
"Because I will never run away."
Rather, approaching toward the man, he opened his mouth again.
"Are you the True Demon himself?"
He made the vengeance-burning Pahon into the king of spiritual creatures, making him tear corrupted humans to death.
The only one who possessed such an ability was none other than the True Demon.
[Foolish blood.]
Unintelligible words flowed from the man's mouth.
[To think you have still not achieved enlightenment.]
"Blood?"
Bu Eunseol knitted his brow.
All along, he had not gone to the past.
He thought he was merely experiencing a life of a past era by borrowing someone's memories.
Yet what was he supposed to achieve enlightenment about in this place?
"Are you speaking of a past life?"
According to the words of the Moon Wheel Sage King of Ratna Fortress in the past, she had said he did not have a past life.
Yet why was he saying such words?
"Why did you corrupt Pahon?"
Bu Eunseol asked in a low voice.
"From your perspective, weren't humans nothing more than insignificant existences?"
[Achieve enlightenment yourself.]
The man spat out unintelligible words once again and slowly reached out his hand.
Thereupon, invisible waves of malice surged in like a tide from his fingertips.
They drew out the darkness, the murderous intent, and the fighting spirit from the deepest part of Bu Eunseol's mind.
'Does it mean we should start the fight without long words?'
However, it was strange.
That person possessed the authority to make Pahon the king of spiritual creatures just by placing a hand on his head.
If he wanted to kill him, it would be enough to simply twitch a finger.
Was he deliberately trying to engage in a cumbersome battle?
Ssk.
At that time, the shadowed eyes of the man flashed bizarrely.
As Bu Eunseol looked at that gaze, strange thoughts brushed through his mind.
'Could it be.'
The True Demon's remains, the Dragon-Phoenix Ring, the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl...
Along with the image of the three treasures combining, a bizarre hypothesis came to mind.
'No, thoughts come later.'
Right now, the greatest enemy in history was spewing hostility before his eyes.
He had to gather his mind with all his heart and strength to face him.
Shhing, whirrr!
Hundreds of light points began to spread out from the drawn Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
He had used the Crystal Divine Energy to create sword aura formed countlessly like water droplets on the surface of the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
'I will use my full strength.'
The Four Divine Energies passed down through generations in the Central Plains each had a secret art and a martial art to control them.
However, because Bu Eunseol had obtained that power through an extremely coincidental opportunity, he had not deeply polished them one by one.
Instead he had combined those powers and created the Endless Heavenly Light Art, which explosively increased his martial might.
However, previously, Neung Gyeong, the Divine Water Palace Master, had single-handedly struck down the warriors of the Death Shadow Corps.
And while examining their wounds, he indirectly realized the infinite changes and the might of the Crystal Divine Energy.
Each divine energy had infinite inherent functions and uses, and the more exquisitely they were handled, the more their might multiplied.
And now he had to strike down the strong enemy before his eyes.
He was not going to use the Endless Heavenly Light Art, but rather operate just one divine energy at an exquisite realm.
Pat! Pat!
As the Silent Tiger Soul Sword drew a circle, countless ripples spread out in the empty air.
The moment a sword leaves its scabbard and unfolds a sword method.
Martial artists can somewhat predict what sword form will be unfolded and what technique will be used.
But the sword method Bu Eunseol unfolded was different.
It was completely impossible to predict what would come next.
It was because after swirling the sword aura that had been shattered as finely as raindrops.
He had directly split them again to create a shower of sword light.
This was an impromptu sword form created by utilizing the characteristics of the Crystal Divine Energy, which possessed the form of water that underwent thousands of changes and ten thousand variations.
And each point of light contained a profound martial logic.
Glint.
In an instant, the left eye of the man covering his face with a cloth flashed.
That light was hard to think of as the gaze of the True Demon, the origin of all demons.
It held a color so beautiful and so vivid that it seized the heartstrings.
Ziiiing, ziiiing.
In an instant, the shape of beautiful light appeared before Bu Eunseol's eyes, forming a gorgeous flower bud as if dancing.
Pshhhh.
As his gaze was momentarily stolen by that mysterious sight, the might of the sword form poured out by Bu Eunseol weakened in an instant.
-'If the mind is disturbed, the movements become misaligned as well.'
The man had weakened the confident sword form poured out by Bu Eunseol in a way he couldn't even imagine.
Flutter, flutter. Fwooosh.
Before he knew it, the vivid shapes of light clung to Bu Eunseol endlessly, dancing a beautiful dance.
Swoosh!
Bu Eunseol spread the Crystal Divine Energy once more and struck away the shapes of light created by the True Demon with the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
Clang, clang, clang!
Along with the sound of metal, sparks were scattered in all directions.
Shudder.
He had broken all the shapes of light spread around him, but the tip of the Silent Tiger Soul Sword trembled faintly.
He had not deflected the shape of light; rather, it had been absorbed into his body.
Creaaak.
Just as colors resembling ground-up starlight flickered before his eyes.
Endlessly connected patterns of light bloomed, and those patterns grew again, eating one another to create bizarre shapes.
'It is an evil power.'
Clack.
Bu Eunseol gathered his senses and raised the Silent Tiger Soul Sword to the middle position.
However, the figure of the man before his eyes divided endlessly, then quickly changed into a completely different appearance.
The sky flipped upside down, and the earth beneath his feet beat like a heart. The air turned sweet, and a bizarre sense of elation swept through his lungs.
"Not a... chance!"
Booom!
An explosion tore the atmosphere.
In an instant, the surrounding area of tens of jang was dyed in purple light, and hundreds of lightning bolts tore the sky and plunged into the earth.
Each lightning bolt wriggled like a living dragon, tearing the space to shreds.
He had discharged the Thunder Spirit Energy with full force to burn away the bizarre energy digging into his body.
Crackle, crackle.
Purple energy spewed from his entire body.
It wrapped around his whole body like armor, pushing away the evil power that had infiltrated him.
The appearance of Bu Eunseol, whose very eyes were dyed purple, was the Thunder God himself descended from mythology.
His hair stood on end, and countless fine purple sparks jumped from the surface of his skin.
The earth was scorched black by the lightning, and the smell of burning hung thick in the air.
Rumble.
Watching that overwhelming sight, the man lightly twisted his neck.
No emotion whatsoever could be read on his face hidden in the shadows.
Quickly narrowing the distance, Bu Eunseol unfolded the Thirteen Hwa Wu Forms with all his strength.
'I must cut off that hand.'
The man seemed to exert an omnipotent power, but he was certainly reaching out his hand to exert that power.
Fwoosh, pat, pat, pat, pat!
The sharp sword aura of the Silent Tiger Soul Sword persistently dug into the man's wrist.
Thereupon, he could not reach out his hand easily, and instead, his fingers wriggled endlessly.
Swoooosh.
A stream of bizarre power poured out from his fingertips.
It was pitch-black and sticky, and wriggling like a black snake, it wrapped around Bu Eunseol's body.
Swooosh!
Bu Eunseol soared into the empty air in a single breath.
Boom!
He came down to the earth like lightning once again, using the Thunder Spirit Energy.
Because the power the man used penetrated into the physical body the moment it touched.
It could neither be deflected nor blocked, and could only be evaded.
Fwooosh, swooosh!
Bu Eunseol disappeared in the empty air leaving an afterimage, then appeared in a completely different location.
Whenever the bizarre power tried to wrap around his body, he scattered like mist, then condensed again to swing his sword.
Wind-Piercing Void and Needle.
Wind can pass through any obstacle without hindrance, and can pass through a microscopic gap like a hair's breadth in a single breath.
By utilizing the extreme profound logic of the Wind-Cloud Divine Energy, he evaded the man's attacks and continuously unfolded his sword method.
'Even faster!'
Kicking the ground, stepping on the air, and cleaving the empty air, he moved endlessly.
Sword light embroidered all directions, wind swirled, and lightning struck down from the sky once more.
As Bu Eunseol continuously poured out attacks and aimed at the wrist, a flash of light erupted from the eyes of the man hidden in the darkness this time.
Thereupon, an astonishing event occurred.
Countless lights poured down, and out of them formed a human shape that stood against his sword method.
The startled Bu Eunseol immediately struck down at the neck with the Limitless Infinity form.
Swoosh!
The shadow suddenly struck out with a fist.
It had transitioned from a formless attack to a tangible attack.
Paaat!
The fist power poured out by the shadow continuously caused changes in an extremely short distance.
It dissolved the Limitless Infinity form in a single breath.
Bu Eunseol unfolded the Overturning the Four Seas Form of the Thirteen Hwa Wu Forms and the Profound and More Profound Form of the Hwa Wu Sword simultaneously.
However, the fist method of the shadow was truly appearing and disappearing unpredictably like a ghost.
One moment the fist struck the lower abdomen, and before he knew it, it dug into the philtrum; when he thought it was heading left, it had already moved to the right.
'It is not the fist martial arts of the Central Plains, no, it is not a martial art that has been created until now.'
The fist power soared into the sky before suddenly changing into a low attack, and turning into fist power like a sharp long needle to pierce both eyes, it suddenly retreated.
Paaat.
Finally capturing an inescapable moment, the shadow poured out a strike.
'It is dangerous.'
If struck squarely by that fist power, he absolutely cannot avoid death.
In the face of such power, any martial art, even any authority, would become powerless.
However, Bu Eunseol did not step back.
The Sword Venerable had died, and the Profound Demon had left the martial world.
The most outstanding swordsman under heaven was none other than Bu Eunseol.
Because the profound logic of the sword arts they had left behind was carved deep into his right hand.
Whirrr!
Bu Eunseol's sword method changed impromptu, creating a slow and soft flow as if unfolding in a dream.
And each and every one of his movements.
They dissolved the absolute fist martial art attack spewed out by the shadow, bit by bit.
Drip.
Although he could not block it perfectly, it did not matter. As long as his life was attached, he could overturn victory and defeat at any time.
Swooosh! Shshshshk!
Bu Eunseol unfolded his sword method with all his heart and strength to attack the shadow.
With every move, life and death, victory and defeat brushed past.
Yet it was strange.
As this extremely dangerous exchange of moves continued endlessly, a strange sense of incongruity brushed his mind.
'Why.'
The Soul Demon Dharma Energy is closer to a transcendent authority that absolutely cannot be countered with the power of martial arts.
Yet why did that man go to such trouble?
Why create a human shape and try to suppress him with the power of martial arts?
'Furthermore, these moves are.'
At first glance, the shadow's fist method looked like moves of murderous intent pouring out to cut off his breath.
But after crossing hundreds of exchanges, he found that it contained unexpected properties.
The fist martial art of the shadow was perfectly responding to the sword arts he unfolded.
Within each of those trajectories, there was an exquisite flow, and those flows gathered to create a single massive circulation.
Like a river.
No, like life.
When Bu Eunseol attacked, it was bent, scattered, and gathered again by it... changing into a new form.
'He is giving an answer to my martial arts.'
This was not a battle, but a conversation asking and answering each other's paths.
By unfolding mutually opposing fist martial arts to block the sword method, by revealing the logic of supremely high martial arts.
He asked back about the martial arts Bu Eunseol pursued, denied it, and at a certain moment, even embraced it.
The existence known as the shadow was change, circulation, and the very logic of endless creation and extinction.
'So that was it.'
Bu Eunseol finally realized.
The pouring attacks were like a martial arts secret manual containing the logic of the world, and like scriptures explaining the origin of power.
Ultimately, that man had created the shadow for a reason.
Enlightenment, realizations, experiences.
It was what Bu Eunseol had never experienced, never felt, and never dared even to think of until now...
He unfolded that profound realm of martial arts before him, testing him and teaching him.
Thanks to that, as if carefully reading a martial arts secret manual letter by letter, phrase by phrase, he was absorbing the profound logic contained within it.
And those enlightenments showed him something.
A path whose very existence was faint because no one had reached it.
They were showing him, ever more clearly, that place whose destination he had not even known.
'My martial arts realm is not the Limitless Realm.'
The Infinite Enlightenment had once risen in him.
He had suppressed it, and without being buried in the concept known as the Infinite Reversal Power, he had pursued his own martial arts.
Before he knew it, the time had come to break out of the mold of existing martial arts and reach a new path.
However, he ultimately could not arrive there.
No, he couldn't do it.
Because defining the path of a new martial arts realm was something no one in the history of the martial world had ever done until now.
Even though he had actually entered that place, he had been wandering in the darkness.
―'While saying I would throw everything away, did I actually possess many things?'
A thrill akin to being pierced by lightning flowed through him.
Contrary to what he pursued.
Until now, he had held too much power in his body, and he had tried to harmonize and mix them all.
Bu Eunseol had realized the logic of the new martial arts.
Swoosh.
He threw away even the Three Divine Energies in his body and attacked the shadow by purely unfolding his sword method.
Swoosh!
When he unfolded his martial arts with all his heart and strength using only the power of his physical body, he could pour out a might like that of a natural sword.
Ziiiiiing.
And more than that, the power of the miraculous fist force the shadow had been pouring out gradually began to disappear.
It was what he had wished for all along.
He had created a portion of the domain of the Void Extreme, where no one could use supernatural power, and where they could fight a purely human battle.
'The scenery of the Void Extreme.'
It was thanks to fighting the shadow.
No, it was because that man had 'defined' it for him.
Bu Eunseol could finally realize where it was that he had reached.
The Void Extreme Realm.
It was a realm that only a martial artist pursuing purely martial arts could reach.
He had entered the stage of the Realm of Destruction and Extinction, where one could extinguish supernatural powers or bizarre powers.
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