A flash of light streaked across Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
These were people capable of conjuring thick fog over a perfectly normal river.
It was almost certain that some hidden mechanisms or surveillance devices existed beyond even his superhuman senses.
“Hehehe… it’s real. It’s really real!” Bu Eunseol flipped through the manual again and again, letting out a laugh of pure ecstasy.
Then he truly began to read it.
After devouring the manual for hours, a faint glimmer appeared in his eyes.
‘But this sword art is not suited to me.’
Ascendant martial arts inevitably contain secret techniques that either amplify power or alter the practitioner’s spirit according to the sword’s intent.
The Moon Shadow Sword Manual was no different—it included methods to vastly increase killing intent, as well as the mysterious movement art Moon Shadow Step.
‘No… if I learned it, I would actually regress.’
If the mental formula accompanying an ascendant art did not match the practitioner’s innate disposition, no amount of effort would lead to mastery. Worse, it could ruin the body.
‘Still, I have to keep up appearances.’
Thanks to his brilliant mind and lightning-fast comprehension, Bu Eunseol could grasp the profound principles of ascendant arts regardless of temperament—if he wished.
‘It’s been refined.’
The Moon Shadow Demon Venerable was said to have dominated an entire era.
Yet the forms recorded in this manual were not the original techniques from the past.
Someone had improved and rewritten them.
‘Interesting.’
Bu Eunseol spent an entire day studying the manual.
Even so, he could do no more than memorize the characters.
Considering that he had once memorized even the Divine Mountain Sage’s Heon Won Bright Sword—a manual missing its core formula—in just two days, this was absurd.
‘Something is wrong.’
Take the opening form of Moon-Sinking Bright Mirror: it was a defensive technique that precisely identified the enemy’s opening and countered in the exact instant of retaliation.
Yet, absurdly, the counterattack was described as coming not from the right hand holding the sword, but from the left flank.
‘A suicidal move?’
Moreover, Moon-Sinking Bright Mirror served as the preparatory stance for Moon-Dust Head Flower.
But the moment Moon-Sinking Bright Mirror was executed, the heart or vital points would already be pierced—dead.
Unless one were a jiangshi*, executing Moon-Dust Head Flower afterward would be impossible.
*Chinese hopping vampire / zombie
‘I don’t understand. Is there another profound meaning?’
Bu Eunseol shook his head and tried to swallow, but his mouth was bone-dry.
He glanced out the window—dawn was already breaking again.
Another full day had passed.
‘This manual is a demonic object.’
Any martial artist who laid eyes on it would go mad.
It contained power capable of destroying any technique—yet required the practitioner to die with every flaw exposed.
How could anyone not lose their mind?
Gulp, gulp.
Bu Eunseol rushed outside and drank deeply from the stream running through the valley.
‘I have to shake it off.’
If he became too absorbed in this manual, he really would go insane.
He tucked the manual away and headed toward the village. Enough time had passed so abandoning practice for a while to wander the village would not look suspicious.
‘I’m not the only one who came here. Where did the others go?’
Clear traces of previous occupants remained in the stone houses assigned to him.
Countless people must have gone through the same process.
So where had they all disappeared to?
Bu Eunseol strode quickly out of the forest.
The midday village was serene.
Women drew water from wells, children ran in laughing packs, and peddlers shouted their wares from stalls.
Though their faces were grotesque, every single one wore a relaxed, easy smile.
‘They are not ordinary villagers.’
But Bu Eunseol could tell.
Just like the boy Dae Bo, these people were not simple villagers. They were only pretending.
“Hmm.”
Deliberately dulling his eyes, Bu Eunseol pushed open the door to the largest inn in the market square.
It was long past mealtime, so the place was nearly empty.
No—there was one customer.
Gulp, gulp.
In the darkest corner where light barely reached, a hulking man with wild, unkempt hair and a beard thick as a jungle sat drinking.
He hadn’t washed in so long that the sour stench reached even from afar.
Countless empty jars littered the floor around him—he had clearly been drinking since morning.
‘At least one normal-looking person.’
The man’s drinking manner was crude and filthy, but his face was untouched by the island’s deformities.
Perhaps, like Bu Eunseol, he too had come here after obtaining a demonic sword and seeing the letters.
Gulp, gulp.
The man continued drinking with unfocused eyes, even after noticing Bu Eunseol enter.
“Hmph.” Bu Eunseol deliberately snorted.
So Jincheon was short-tempered and belligerent—he would never let such a man sit unbothered.
“You’re ruining the taste of my liquor. Aren’t you going to get rid of that filth?”
“Heh heh heh.”
The wild-haired man looked at Bu Eunseol and laughed.
“Another corpse has arrived.”
“What?” Bu Eunseol narrowed his eyes menacingly. “What did you just say?”
“Have you finished mastering the manual?”
“What does that—”
Only then did understanding dawn. Bu Eunseol’s eyes flashed as he nodded.
“So you brought a demonic sword too and received a manual.” He gripped the hilt of his Moon Shadow Demonic Sword, eyes gleaming. “Then you must be ready.”
The man chuckled and shook his head.
“No need to get so worked up already.”
He staggered to his feet and brushed past Bu Eunseol.
“You’ll end up just like me anyway.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You have to make a choice.”
Leaving that cryptic remark, the man stood and waved carelessly.
“Do your best.”
Shiiing!
Bu Eunseol instantly drew the demonic sword and pressed it against the man’s throat the moment he turned.
If he were truly So Jincheon—vicious and cruel—he would certainly have ambushed like this.
“You bastard. Want your neck cut?”
He spoke in the most sinister tone he could muster.
“Speak. What choice? What the hell is happening on this island?”
“I told you.”
The man, hand trembling from drink, placed his middle finger against the Moon Shadow Demonic Sword aimed at his throat.
“Didn’t I say to study hard by yourself?”
Tap.
The instant his fingertip touched the blade, an indescribable pressure exploded outward.
Buzzzzzz!
The sword vibrated violently for a long while.
At the same time, Bu Eunseol felt his entire body go numb, as though paralyzed.
The force in that single finger was so immense that his whole frame shook like the trembling blade.
“Not bad.”
The wild-haired man gave a surprised snort, then looked at his own finger.
It was white and translucent, like the delicate finger of a beautiful woman.
“To not let go of a sword flicked by the Scarlet Blood Demon Finger…”
“Scarlet Blood Demon Finger?”
Was that not the exclusive finger art of the Scarlet Blood Demon Emperor, the demonic sovereign from three hundred years ago?
For a drunken wreck to use it so casually—he must have mastered the Scarlet Blood Demon Emperor’s secret manual.
“So you received the Scarlet Blood Demon Emperor’s manual.”
Bu Eunseol let out a villainous laugh and thrust his sword again.
“Hand over the manual.”
Heh.
The man flashed white teeth in a hollow smile, turned, and simply walked away.
“Stop right there!”
Bu Eunseol unleashed a thunderous sword strike.
But the man, clearly uninterested in fighting, instantly used a movement art and vanished outside the inn.
“You rat bastard!”
CRASH!
Bu Eunseol smashed through the inn door in pursuit, but the man had already disappeared without a trace.
A movement art as ghostly and elusive as a phantom.
“Fucking vermin.” Bu Eunseol roared in fury. “You’re stuck on this island anyway! I’ll find you and cut off every last finger!”
When he stormed back inside, an inn servant approached.
“What can I get you, sir?”
Any normal servant would have trembled at Bu Eunseol’s violent behavior.
But the servant—face swollen and melted like all the others—smiled with perfect calm.
“You’re ruining my drink.”
Bu Eunseol glared, then strode toward the kitchen.
There a fat cook was stir-frying meat—his face also dripping like a leper’s.
“Forget it.”
Bu Eunseol waved a hand in disgust, as though he had lost his appetite.
“Bring me a whole jar of liquor. I’ll take it with me.”
Carrying the jar he received from the inn, Bu Eunseol headed back to his stone house.
On the way he passed a group of villagers sitting in a circle around a bonfire in the village square.
They were enthusiastically grilling something over the charcoal.
When Bu Eunseol approached, they stopped eating and stared at him with open curiosity—like children seeing a strange animal for the first time.
“What are you staring at?”
With So Jincheon’s face and a bellowing voice, he looked every inch a fiend.
Yet the villagers only smiled back, warm and welcoming.
“Here, try some.”
A middle-aged man pulled a skewer from the fire and offered it.
The meat on the skewer looked tender, fragrant, perfectly cooked.
“Perfect with drinks.”
“Trying to bum liquor off me?”
“We have plenty of our own.”
The man laughed and pointed to a huge jar beside them.
“Come on, just taste it.”
He wrapped the grilled meat in oil paper and handed it over.
“Sprinkle a little salt—it’s incredible. Take it with you.”
Even the vicious So Jincheon wouldn’t snap at someone offering delicious grilled meat.
“You’ve got taste.”
Bu Eunseol gave a satisfied nod.
“I’ll enjoy it.”
Accepting the oil-paper bundle, he returned to his stone house.
He opened the liquor jar and began drinking.
The moment he smelled the meat inside the paper—
“……!”
Bu Eunseol’s face froze solid.
The skewers looked like well-grilled beef or lamb.
But the scent was unmistakable.
‘Human flesh.’
Shockingly, the meat the villagers had been happily grilling and eating was human.
While living at the Pyeongan Funeral Home, Bu Eunseol had cremated countless bodies.
He had smelled the unique odor of burning human flesh more times than he could count.
‘They know exactly what it is and eat it anyway.’
Human meat has a distinctive aroma—any but the dullest fool would notice something wrong.
Yet those seemingly innocent villagers had been smiling as they ate it?
‘Then it wasn’t leprosy.’
Leprosy causes lesions on the skin, and in severe cases rots away extremities—fingers, toes, the tip of the nose.
But not a single villager was missing a limb; only their skin was deformed.
‘Is the rotting skin related to eating human flesh?’
Historically, during famines people often resorted to cannibalism.
But Cold Moon Island appeared to have abundant food.
If they ate human meat despite that, there must be another reason—perhaps connected to the great curse or arcane art they practiced.
‘Then that man is definitely an outsider.’
Bu Eunseol recalled the wild-haired drunkard.
He had casually used the Scarlet Blood Demon Emperor’s exclusive finger art, and had drunk without ordering any food.
Perhaps he refused side dishes because he knew everything served here was human flesh.
‘Who is he, really?’
Despite clearly possessing high martial attainment, the man’s eyes and expression had been those of someone who had given up on the world.
—Have you finished mastering the manual?
And he had asked that question with a strange smile, as if he already knew it was impossible.
‘Then…’
Realization dawning, Bu Eunseol stepped outside and examined the other stone houses.
Inside, everything was spotless—cleaned and prepared for the next demonic sword wielder.
Bzzz.
White light leaked from his eyes.
He activated Void Heart Command and scanned every inch.
‘So that’s it.’
Now he understood why these stone houses had been prepared, and why he was being watched in secret.
‘They wanted us to suffer.’
The interiors bore vivid traces of countless warriors who had raged or despaired within these walls.
And that despair… had surely come from receiving a manual like the Moon Shadow Sword Manual—one of terrifying power yet impossible to master.
Despair and fury.
Every possessor of a demonic sword was born with a Void Spirit Physique.
They had lived believing themselves geniuses—yet could not master a single manual.
The despair and rage must have been unbearable.
And now Bu Eunseol knew exactly what he had to do.
‘I’ll give it to them.’
To advance to the next stage, he had to writhe in agony just like all the others who had come before him.
Nine days had passed since Bu Eunseol arrived on Cold Moon Island.
Standing before his stone house, demonic sword in hand, he trembled and trembled.
“AAAAAARGH!”
It was the desperate, soul-rending cry of a warrior who had tried everything to learn the art, yet failed utterly.
“How is this supposed to be swordsmanship?!”
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
He swung the demonic sword wildly, face twisted in fury.
His lips were cracked, his eyes bloodshot with madness.
“It’s impossible! This sword art makes no sense at all!”
Bu Eunseol roared in anguish.
So Jincheon had always believed his talent was unparalleled.
He had never once tasted true failure on his rise.
But the Moon Shadow Sword Manual had delivered a frustration he had never known.
And now Bu Eunseol perfectly embodied the despair of a genius who, too late, discovers his limits.
Step… step…
Slow footsteps approached the kneeling, broken figure.
Bu Eunseol looked up—the boy Dae Bo stood there, smiling brightly.
“You seem to be suffering greatly, my lord.”
“You little—! Is this supposed to be the Moon Shadow Sword Manual?!”
Bu Eunseol screamed, face gaunt and hollow.
“It’s fake! Bring me the real one!”
“My lord.”
Dae Bo spoke with apparent pity.
“You know very well this is the authentic manual.”
“Bullshit! How am I supposed to execute moves like these?” Bu Eunseol stared at the distant sky and howled. “No human body can perform them! How am I supposed to do it?!”
“There is a way.”
Dae Bo gazed at the screaming man and spoke in a gentle, coaxing voice.
“But that way requires you to risk your life.”
“What are you saying? What way?”
“I cannot tell you. However…”
Dae Bo’s eyes curved into crescents.
“If you resolve to stake your very life, I can make you master the Moon Shadow Sword Manual.”
“If I risk my life, I can master it?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t we already risking our lives just by walking the martial world?”
Bu Eunseol roared, drooling.
“Tell me now!”
“Very well.”
Dae Bo immediately turned to lead him.
“Please follow me.”
‘It worked.’
A faint smile ghosted across Bu Eunseol’s mind.
At last he would see the true face of the Three Realms branch hidden on this island.
The place Dae Bo brought him to was a cliff overlooking the sea.
A small stone house stood there—looking no different from the one Bu Eunseol had been given.
“What is this place?”
Instead of answering, Dae Bo opened the door.
Inside was not a room, but another door.
Creak.
When that inner door opened, a staircase leading deep underground appeared.
The stone house itself was the entrance to a hidden underground passage.
‘The Three Realms really do love basements.’
Every facility of the Three Realms Bu Eunseol had encountered so far had been underground. The Returning to One branch on Cold Moon Island was no exception.
It was probably inevitable—anything this important had to be concealed from the surface world.
Step… step…
They descended the long passage until an enormous cavern opened before them—dozens of zhang in height and breadth, easily twice the size of the underground citadel he had seen in Sichuan, which belonged to the Infinite Realm.
‘It’s not a human-transmutation farm, at least.’
Fortunately, no signs of cultivating human vessels were visible.
But the vast space was utterly empty—no one walked its halls.
It was as silent as a ghost town.
“This way, please.”
Dae Bo led him into one of the buildings.
Inside was a colossal hall—five zhang high, easily a thousand pyeong in area.
Enormous pillars that three grown men together could not encircle supported the ceiling, their surfaces carved with demonic figures.
The hall was neither too dark nor too bright, and at the far end stood a massive door.
“My lord, you have always wished to live as a strong man. And you wish to remain undefeated forever.”
Shockingly, Dae Bo spoke as if he had investigated every detail of So Jincheon’s life.
“Of course.”
Bu Eunseol growled, eyes bloodshot with impatience.
“So hurry up and tell me the method.”
“Very well.”
Clap.
When Dae Bo clapped once, the floor on one side rumbled open and a gigantic glass cylinder rose from below.
‘This is…’
Brilliant light streamed from beneath the cylinder, which was filled with transparent liquid.
And floating inside that liquid was a corpse—its skin completely flayed away except for the face.
In places the muscles were exposed with surgical precision and in others, only bone and blood vessels remained visible.
Even the most fearless would recoil in horror at such a grotesque sight.
“Wh-what the hell is this?!”
Bu Eunseol staggered back in feigned shock.
Dae Bo answered with perfect nonchalance.
“This is the Moon Shadow Demon Venerable.”
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