Whoosh!
Bu Eunseol immediately headed back to the village through the secret passage.
The alarm bell had rung, and it seemed all the key figures of the Clear River Realm had already evacuated. The only people left in the village were those whose bodies remained bound, their brainwashing process incomplete.
‘They must have either failed the brainwashing or been deemed unworthy of taking.’
Splash!
Bu Eunseol unleashed the Wishful True Binding, forcibly parting the tightly bound crowd and creating a wide open space between them.
Though no physical restraints held their bodies, they clung together as if magnetized—a psychological bondage induced by brainwashing.
By forcibly widening the gap, the invisible bonds began to loosen, and the brainwashing that dominated them gradually unraveled.
“......”
As their bodies were separated, the people wore blank expressions for a moment. They had spent anywhere from one to five years or more in this state.
Now, with the restraints on both body and soul suddenly released, the memories of that lost time flashed through their minds like a revolving lantern.
“Go.” Bu Eunseol spoke, gazing at those freed from the brainwashing. “However, those who have committed evil deeds or harbor the intent to do so should think carefully.”
His eyes turned sternly solemn.
“If you reveal your wicked nature again, you will once more be abducted by the Clear River Realm.”
Half of these people were villains with vicious hearts. Some had already committed crimes, while others had not yet acted on their malice.
Bu Eunseol was warning them: if they committed evil again, the same fate could repeat itself.
Rumble.
The trembling villains hurriedly turned and fled the village.
In contrast, the kind-hearted ones expressed their gratitude to Bu Eunseol one by one or bowed deeply before leaving slowly.
Suddenly, curiosity struck him.
Would the villains truly repent after this incident? Or would they fail to suppress their murderous impulses and commit evil once more? Unless one were a god, no one could know the odds.
Yet no one had the right to control or bind another’s life.
But the Clear River Realm would never stop such acts… In the end, they were a force that could not coexist with the righteous world.
“I must save her.”
Bu Eunseol swiftly turned and departed.
The Clear River Realm was one of the Three Realms that rarely revealed itself.
Even if he mobilized every intelligence network, finding its whereabouts would be difficult. The chances of locating A-Yeon, even if he scoured all eighteen thousand li of the Central Plains, were exceedingly slim.
“Wait.”
A sudden thought flashed through Bu Eunseol’s mind.
Si Gyeongnim had also been brainwashed to enhance his martial prowess and became a Special Divine Rank of the Clear River Realm. Moreover, the boy who had recently undergone successful brainwashing had changed his appearance—not to his own face, but to that of the person he had killed.
‘Perhaps…’
Whoosh!
Bu Eunseol returned through the secret passage and examined the face of the fallen Si Gyeongnim. Though dead, the man’s face remained altered. Yet Bu Eunseol, an embalmer with half a lifetime of experience, noticed something: even in death, the skin showed no signs of reversion.
Slice.
He drew his sword and lightly cut along the jawline. With a ripping sound, a new face beneath was revealed. It turned out Si Gyeongnim had been wearing an exquisitely crafted human-skin mask.
“This makes no sense.”
During their battle, Si Gyeongnim had changed his face once more. How could that happen while wearing a mask?
Rip.
When Bu Eunseol fully removed the human-skin mask, the face of an extremely ordinary middle-aged man appeared.
“Sama Gwang?”
Bu Eunseol recognized him instantly. The man was Sama Gwang, the master of Soyun Manor, a renowned philanthropist in Gangnam who generously donated large sums to those in need.
“Then…”
With this clue, Bu Eunseol immediately left the village.
Boom!
Returning to the provincial capital, he issued a secret order through the intelligence network of the Death Spirit Corps:
—Compile a full list of all places where the Gangnam tycoon Sama Gwang has made donations.
After issuing the command, Bu Eunseol rested briefly at an inn.
Less than a day later, a secret agent of the Death Spirit Corps discreetly delivered a booklet to his location.
It was filled with a detailed record of every place Sama Gwang had donated to.
‘Hm.’
Bu Eunseol’s gaze fixed on an entry midway through the booklet.
Jin Gang Prefecture, Mugok Temple.
A small temple located in Sichuan, far from the Gangnam region.
Sama Gwang had been donating to this seemingly random temple, and the amounts were large enough to support five or six ordinary temples.
‘This is it.’
Bu Eunseol’s intuition told him the Clear River Realm had a hidden facility at Mugok Temple.
‘Likely underground.’
Every facility of the Three Realms discovered so far had been built that way—not in suspicious isolated locations, but beneath ordinary, unremarkable places where discovery would raise no alarm.
Leaving the inn, Bu Eunseol raced day and night for three days straight, arriving near Mugok Temple.
He had not taken even a sip of water, yet his eyes remained clear, and a faint glow emanated from his body. His inner energy had deepened to the point where he felt no fatigue even after four sleepless days and nights.
Tap.
Upon reaching Mugok Temple, Bu Eunseol infiltrated silently and surveyed the interior. The grounds were extremely serene, with almost no monks in sight. Despite receiving enormous annual donations from Sama Gwang, the temple buildings were shabby, and no pilgrims were present.
‘They must be inside.’
He checked various monks’ quarters, but sensed no presence.
‘There must be a secret passage somewhere.’
Yet even after carefully examining the surroundings, he found no trace of a mechanism. The temple grounds were vast, leaving far too many places to search.
‘No, they wouldn’t have installed a mechanism inside the temple itself.’
Unlike the Infinite Realm or the Returning to One Realm, the Clear River Realm had no need for massive laboratories. They would not bother with complicated mechanisms inside the temple; instead, they would simply hide an entrance in a secluded spot rarely visited.
Whoosh.
Bu Eunseol headed toward the pagoda deepest within the temple grounds. It was the sarira pagoda housing the relics of past monks—an area forbidden to outsiders.
‘Strange.’
Even around the sarira pagoda, he heard no mechanical sounds. Moreover, the pagoda was smaller than an adult’s height, leaving no room for any passage.
Then an ingenious idea struck him.
‘Shaolin.’
Shaolin had also hidden a secret mechanism within its pagoda forest. The trigger was an utterly ordinary stone lying on the ground.
Tap.
While touching various stones, Bu Eunseol found one that felt hollow inside. After examining it closely, he pressed down hard using the Thousand-Jin Weight Technique.
Rumble.
A faint mechanical sound came from an unexpected direction. On the side of the building opposite the sarira pagoda, a door had appeared.
‘Clever.’
Bu Eunseol approached the newly revealed door stealthily. It was extremely sturdy and heavy—impossible to open with ordinary strength, much like the secret mechanisms in the Martial Alliance.
As he focused his inner energy, air currents spread in all directions, and the tightly sealed iron door began to tremble.
Ruuuumble.
With the sound of machinery, the massive iron door finally opened.
Inside stretched a long passage shrouded in darkness. Without concern for traps, Bu Eunseol unleashed his movement technique and ran for a long while.
Even after more than half an hour, there was no end. Judging by the distance, this secret facility was dozens of li away from Mugok Temple.
Finally reaching the end of the passage, he found another enormous iron gate.
Opening it cautiously revealed an unexpected sight.
“This place…”
The scenery before him was the very forest he had passed through long ago, during his days as one of the Ten Demon Warriors, on his way to the Majeon to be recognized as a successor candidate by the Demon Emperor.
Beyond the forest stood a pavilion remarkably similar to the Suppressed Demon Pavilion where Bu Eunseol currently resided.
‘It’s not an illusion.’
He was immune to any demonic arts or bewitchment.
Someone had deliberately recreated all of this.
Passing the pavilion, he saw a path leading up a mountain.
The peak was so high it vanished into the clouds but without hesitation, Bu Eunseol used his movement technique and ascended in one leap.
At the summit, a breathtaking panoramic view of the world unfolded. At the edge of the cliff stood a woman in white, gazing at the scenery.
Even from behind, he knew it was her.
A-Yeon.
“Lady A-Yeon.”
Bu Eunseol called her name cautiously.
The woman who had been staring blankly at the sky slowly turned around. Her beauty remained unchanged, though she appeared slightly thinner.
Only her eyes seemed profoundly distant, as if gazing at some far-off place beyond reality.
“You’ve come.”
A-Yeon smiled calmly and brightly upon seeing him.
“I’m surprised. To think I would truly meet you here.”
“Did you know I would come?”
“Yes.”
Though a strange feeling arose, Bu Eunseol asked again.
“What are you doing here?”
“I was looking at that.”
A-Yeon pointed to a faint rainbow on the opposite side.
“That rainbow always looks so beautiful from up here. So I decided to go down there to see it.”
She smiled as she spoke.
“But when I got there, I could see the rainbow clearly, yet the beautiful view I had from here was gone.”
Bu Eunseol found her words odd but answered calmly.
“Isn’t it natural for the scenery to change depending on where you stand?”
“I wanted to see the clear rainbow while still surrounded by this beautiful landscape.”
“That is a desire akin to chasing an illusion. When you draw near to one thing, you inevitably move farther from another, don’t you?”
“Hehe.”
A-Yeon showed a playful smile uncharacteristic of her.
“Talking with you is always interesting.”
“......”
“You always look like a young man who has just shed his boyish features, yet your words and actions carry the insight and profound wisdom of an elder who has lived eighty years.”
“My Lady.” Bu Eunseol’s expression grew worried. “Are you all right?”
“What do you mean?”
“To be honest, I was concerned that you had been abducted by the Three Realms.”
“Abducted? No, that’s not it.” A-Yeon shook her head. “I simply had no other choice. It felt like fate.”
Her voice was clear and measured, but her eyes were somehow hazy, as if she were drunk and lost in deep sentiment.
“Then you willingly joined the Three Realms?”
“I wanted to become stronger.” A-Yeon turned to gaze down at the mist-shrouded cliff below. “I couldn’t forget. I thought that if I became stronger, I might finally forget—or that if my martial prowess rose, those memories might fade…”
“Forget what?”
“You.”
A-Yeon turned back, wearing a sorrowful smile.
“The image of you etched in my mind.”
“My Lady.”
“But it didn’t work. No matter what I did, I couldn’t forget you, and I couldn’t return as the successor of the Sword Pavilion.”
A-Yeon was a woman of the orthodox faction.
Yet she could neither forget Bu Eunseol nor be with him.
In the end, she realized the only path left was the same as her master, Ok Yuha—to spend her life in torment, longing for an unattainable love, and ultimately become a broken shell.
A-Yeon smiled bitterly.
“Unable to return to the Sword Pavilion, I wandered the martial world aimlessly. But the pain and suffering only grew…”
She paused, gazing at the distant sky.
“Eventually, I decided that only death could end my torment, so I climbed this cliff to take my own life.”
Rather than suffer lifelong longing, A-Yeon had chosen suicide.
‘She cared for me this deeply?’
Bu Eunseol drew a deep breath.
Love can sometimes resemble hatred. When harbored alone for too long, it brings only suffering and ultimately destroys the person.
“That was when a masked figure stopped me. He was a Special Divine Rank of the Three Realms who had been watching me for a long time.”
The rest of the story needed no telling. The Three Realms had always recruited and manipulated people by exploiting their intense desires and longings.
“I see.”
Having grasped the full situation, Bu Eunseol lowered his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” A-Yeon spoke calmly. “People value different things most highly. Some seek success, others power…”
She smiled faintly.
“I simply placed love above all else.”
As the successor of the Sword Pavilion, her life’s greatest goal should naturally have been to become the pavilion lord and achieve the Sword Dao.
But meeting Bu Eunseol had upended her life.
She wished only for love with him.
The Sword Dao, the position of pavilion lord—none of it held even a penny’s worth of value to her anymore.
“So you joined the Clear River Realm?”
“I only wanted the power to erase my pain. That was all.”
A-Yeon’s voice sounded like a mournful song.
Yet Bu Eunseol forced himself to remain calm. If Si Gyeongnim’s words were true, she had already become a Special Divine Rank of the Clear River Realm.
“Then there is another personality hidden within your mind?”
“Yes. You already knew everything before coming here.”
“My Lady. Until now, the Three Realms have manipulated the martial world at will.” Bu Eunseol spoke earnestly. “Joining them is no different from condoning their evil deeds.”
“You are the one who has misunderstood something.” A-Yeon shook her head. “They are doing good. They find villains of the world, reform them, then implant the personalities of good people to neutralize their wicked natures.”
“No one has the right to brainwash or kill those who have not yet committed crimes.”
“How idealistic.”
A-Yeon gazed at Bu Eunseol with distant eyes.
“You were always like that. A figure of the Demonic Path, yet choosing the righteous way. Never tolerating injustice.”
Deep affection filled her eyes.
“Perhaps that is why I came to love you.”
Bu Eunseol changed the subject. “So, have you fully assimilated with the villain’s personality?”
“Assimilated? Not quite. She is part of me now.”
“Then what do you plan to do next?”
“I was thinking of confessing to you.”
A-Yeon spoke boldly—words she could never have uttered before.
“Let us leave the martial world and live happily together.”
She smiled lovingly.
“Then I won’t have to kill you.”
It was sincere.
When someone like Si Gyeongnim received the Great Method, they became a master capable of matching Bu Eunseol in swordsmanship.
If someone of A-Yeon’s caliber succeeded in the Great Method, her martial prowess would be beyond imagination.
“You know better than anyone that it’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“I have much left to do.”
“Then when everything is finished?” A-Yeon’s eyes burned with passion. “Once you have completed all you must do—will you marry me and spend your life with me?”
Bu Eunseol momentarily wore a blank expression. Could he truly finish everything? Would he even survive until then? And if he did… could he spend his life with A-Yeon?
Even he did not know.
But one thing was certain: love could never be forced.
“That will not happen.”
“Why? You were simultaneously engaged to Palace Master Yeon Soha and Lady Dan So-ok.”
A-Yeon’s voice rose slightly.
“Why is it only me that cannot?”
“My Lady, those were not true betrothals.”
“Men always say that. Are promises between men and women so easily broken?”
“I did not make those promises myself.”
The engagements with Yeon Soha and Dan So-ok had been a solution to fend off the flood of romantic troubles—a method the women themselves had proposed.
“If you doubt me, speak with them yourself.”
“Fine.”
Surprisingly, A-Yeon’s expression softened again.
“In any case, your opinion no longer matters.”
“What do you mean?”
“I will subdue you and keep you by my side for life.”
“You believe you can defeat me?”
“Of course.”
A-Yeon smiled brightly.
“Right now, even if the leader of the Four Gods and Seven Kings came, I would win.”
Bu Eunseol let out a deep sigh.
A-Yeon was not the type to make such bold claims or boasts. The great villain’s personality implanted by the Clear River Realm had already taken root in her mind.
“Lady A-Yeon.” Bu Eunseol pleaded earnestly once more. “Please change your mind and return with me to the Sword Pavilion. If we take time and research carefully, we can surely find a way to undo the brainwashing.”
“Why should I return to that stuffy place and live confined?”
A-Yeon spoke in a low voice.
“I am no longer a disciple of the orthodox faction.”
“My Lady.”
“Choose.”
Faint mist rose around her body as she gathered her energy.
“Will you willingly spend your life with me? Or will you be forcibly subdued and become my puppet?”
A-Yeon’s expression remained as pure and serene as ever. Yet deep within her mind, the wicked personality was cunningly manipulating her.
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