“Are you really alright?”
At that moment, Namgung Sea approached and asked.
“What in the world is down there that it took you so long?”
‘Should I tell her?’
In any case, all the characters engraved on the stone wall had vanished.
Moreover, the things Yohee had prophesied had absolutely nothing to do with the disciples of the Divine Maiden Palace.
Was there really any need to complicate things by explaining in detail?
On top of that, wasn’t he himself the very person who had ruined the arrangement left in the Immortal Crane Annex?
‘No. Even so, I should speak honestly. It was a story left by the founder.’
Bu Eunseol spoke candidly.
“There was a beautifully decorated small village below, and inside it was a cave with a stone statue of the Divine Maiden Palace’s founder. I believe that place was likely the true main base of the Immortal Crane Annex.”
He then recounted the story that had been written on the stone wall.
However, he did not mention the part suggesting that he himself might be a pure Demon. That had not been clearly confirmed, after all.
Namgung Sea listened quietly, then tilted her head.
“There were such words?”
“Yes. However, the writing on the stone wall flew into the sky and the statue disappeared, so… it might sound somewhat absurd.”
Because Namgung Sea was Namgung Un’s paternal aunt, Bu Eunseol treated her with great courtesy regardless of seniority.
She too recognized his consideration and wore a gentle smile, yet there was an unmistakable shadow in her eyes.
“No, I believe you.”
Hearing the voice of Namgung Sea, laden with worry, Bu Eunseol immediately sensed that something had gone wrong at the Divine Maiden Palace.
“What happened?”
“It’s nothing major. Only… I think it would be best for you to leave the palace quickly.”
Namgung Sea continued, “A mysterious group suddenly appeared at the main palace a few hours ago. They are insisting they must search the palace immediately.”
“A search? Why would they search the Divine Maiden Palace?”
“They spoke strangely of ‘celestial energy having shifted,’ and then tried to force their way in without listening to reason.” Namgung Sea gave a bitter smile. “I suspect it may be because of the energy that soared into the heavens from the Immortal Crane Annex you mentioned.”
“Celestial energy…”
Bu Eunseol asked, sensing something.
“Among them, is there a young woman with rather short hair and a violet scar on her neck?”
“Yes. Do you know her?”
‘Yangseol Rin. So she has come.’
A faint smile appeared on Bu Eunseol’s lips.
In the end, the power of the Immortal Crane Annex had disrupted the celestial flow, and Yangseol Rin, sensing it, had immediately rushed to the Divine Maiden Palace.
‘Opening the Immortal Crane Annex was what moved the celestial energy.’
The Immortal Crane Annex was the arrangement left by Yohee, the founder of the Divine Maiden Palace who could read the heavens.
It was said that passing through that place would awaken the power of the Heavenly-Mandate Star.
In other words, the mere act of opening Immortal Crane Annex had undoubtedly caused a tremendous shift in celestial energy.
“Yes.” Bu Eunseol nodded firmly and said, “I will handle that matter. Please guide me to where she is.”
The Scripture Garden was located near the mountainside of Bibong Peak on Mount Mu.
It faced Shinnyeobong Peak across the river.
There was a wide, flat stone platform said to have been created by the founder Yohee through sorcery, according to legend.
And at that Scripture Garden, two figures—a man and a woman—stood facing each other beneath the night sky.
The man seemed to blend naturally with his surroundings, exuding a calm yet majestic aura that seemed to support the heavens and press down the earth.
The woman possessed mystical phoenix-like eyes, and an auspicious energy seemed to rise from her entire body.
It was none other than Bu Eunseol and Yangseol Rin.
“It’s been a while.”
Yangseol Rin looked delighted yet surprised to see Bu Eunseol.
“What on earth are you doing here?”
She had sensed a massive change in the flow of celestial energy, and realized its origin was the Divine Maiden Palace.
Having rushed to Mount Mu, Yangseol Rin had tried to begin her investigation, but naturally the palace had blocked her entry.
She requested an audience with the palace master to negotiate, but met firm refusal and the situation had reached a standoff.
Suddenly the Divine Maiden Palace side proposed moving the discussion to Scripture Garden.
— This matter can be discussed with the person currently at Scripture Garden.
Though she found it strange, she had no choice.
In the end, Yangseol Rin came to Scripture Garden and encountered Bu Eunseol.
“Surely you haven’t started being able to read celestial energy now?”
Bu Eunseol felt relieved seeing that Yangseol Rin was the same as before, friendly yet still carrying that reckless, tomboyish temperament.
‘She can be trusted.’
Even while searching for Yangseol Rin because of the Boundary Prosperity Jade, a part of him had felt uneasy.
According to the Earth-Killer Star, the Yangseol family gathered the One Hundred and Eight Stars for experiments.
Whether that was true or not, the Yangseol family was deeply involved in the affairs of the martial world.
In other words, just like the Three Realms and various factions he had encountered so far, the Yangseol family too was undoubtedly operating secretly with a clear and consistent goal.
‘I do not trust people.’
Those had been Gongsun Dankyung’s words in the past.
She too must have interacted with countless powers in the martial world and realized:
The martial world is not what it appears on the surface; many forces lurk in the abyss.
Trusting someone carelessly could lead to unforeseeable consequences at any moment.
Yet Bu Eunseol believed.
He did not know about the Yangseol family as a whole, but Yangseol Rin herself… he was certain she was not an evil person.
“How could someone like me possibly read celestial energy?”
Brushing away the countless thoughts rising in his mind, Bu Eunseol changed the subject.
“But who are those people? Didn’t you say you would come to the martial world alone?”
Behind Yangseol Rin stood women dressed in blood-red martial robes, glaring at Bu Eunseol with murderous auras.
“Ahh.”
Yangseol Rin shrugged.
“The martial world turned out to be more dangerous than I thought.”
“Are they experts from the Yangseol family?”
“Mm, well, yeah.”
She too seemed troubled and changed the subject.
“But how did you get here?”
“I was looking for you, my Lady.”
“Why look for me?”
Instead of answering, Bu Eunseol glanced toward her subordinates.
Understanding the meaning in his gaze, Yangseol Rin shrugged and spoke to them.
“Give us a moment alone. I need to have an important conversation.”
Even so, they did not move.
Yangseol Rin sighed helplessly.
“He’s the helper I mentioned before. It’s fine.”
At her words, the red-clad warriors reluctantly vanished in an instant.
It was not ordinary footwork; it felt more like some form of sorcery or alien power.
“Do you know what this bead is?”
Once they were gone, Bu Eunseol took a small bead from his robes.
It was the Boundary Prosperity Jade.
“Huh?” Yangseol Rin tilted her head and looked at Bu Eunseol. “How do you have that?”
“I obtained it by chance during my journey in the martial world.”
Bu Eunseol told a convenient half-truth.
“And I realized this bead held mysterious power… but suddenly that power disappeared.”
“So?”
“I was searching for a way to restore the bead’s power or regain it.”
“So that’s why you came looking for me?”
Bu Eunseol answered honestly.
“Yes.”
Yangseol Rin thought for a long while, then shook her head.
“No.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Boundary Prosperity Jade is not something martial artists should use.” She spoke with a grave expression. “And besides… this isn’t even a genuine Boundary Prosperity Jade.”
“What do you mean?”
When Bu Eunseol showed great surprise, Yangseol Rin sighed and explained.
“This is an artificial Boundary Prosperity Jade—temporarily infused with power.”
Bu Eunseol felt as if he had been struck in the back of the head.
This bead that possessed such mysterious power… was man-made and fake?
“Fake?”
“Not fake—artificial.” Yangseol Rin’s expression was strange. “Actually, this one is rarer than a genuine Boundary Prosperity Jade. Because it can be re-infused with power and reused.”
“Then the reason the power disappeared…”
“It simply ran out.”
Bu Eunseol felt confused.
It was already astonishing that such a treasure existed in the world yet the Yangseol family could artificially create such things?
“Are there many such items in the Yangseol family?”
“Who knows.”
“Then is it possible to re-infuse power into a depleted Boundary Prosperity Jade like this?”
Yangseol Rin frowned.
“No. I already told you—martial artists must not use this.”
From her tone, it seemed re-infusing power was indeed possible.
But judging from her expression, she was unlikely to reveal the method easily.
After thinking for a moment, Bu Eunseol spoke again.
“Aren’t you curious why celestial energy became disturbed and why its origin point was the Divine Maiden Palace?”
“Hm?”
“The people of the Divine Maiden Palace don’t know, but I do know the reason.”
Bu Eunseol said calmly, “I will clearly tell you the reason.”
“You’re saying you did it?”
“I didn’t do it myself. But I am definitely involved.”
“Hmm.”
Yangseol Rin pursed her lips, showing clear displeasure.
“You’ve become quite smooth, haven’t you? You asked me so many questions, and now you’ll graciously answer just one? Are you putting conditions on me?”
“That’s…”
“Isn’t that a bit too much? No wonder people say the martial world is full of shameless, ungrateful thick-skinned scoundrels.”
Bu Eunseol looked troubled.
He was someone who knew gratitude and always repaid even the smallest kindness.
And Yangseol Rin was not wrong.
She had continuously shown him goodwill and taught him many things yet here he was, trying to leverage a single piece of information to demand her help.
‘No choice.’
The ways to obtain the Boundary Prosperity Jade’s power seemed exhausted.
With the decisive battle against the Sword Demon approaching soon, there were no more options.
“I’m sorry.”
Bu Eunseol respectfully clasped his hands.
“You’re right. I should not have demanded anything from you.”
Resigned, he put the Boundary Prosperity Jade back into his robes and nodded willingly.
“I will tell you everything without conditions.”
“What? Are you sulking now?”
She had a wild, free-spirited personality and carried an air of looking down on ordinary people, but she definitely knew how to read people.
She had already grasped that Bu Eunseol was a man of honor who always repaid kindness received.
“How could I be sulking?” Bu Eunseol said calmly. “In the past you showed me much kindness. I simply realized that I had been making many demands without having repaid any of it yet.”
Though he spoke that way, a faint look of disappointment and resignation could not be hidden from his eyes.
Seeing Bu Eunseol’s handsome face darken, Yangseol Rin’s heart quickly softened.
“Do you really need to use that bead?”
Pouting, she asked, “Do you even know what it really is before trying to use it?”
“I know it as a treasure that completely changes a person’s temperament.”
“Sigh. You really don’t know anything.”
Yangseol Rin folded her arms and shook her head.
“It’s not simply about changing temperament. It’s…”
She was about to explain calmly but closed her mouth.
Information about artificial Boundary Prosperity Jade was one of the great secrets of the martial world; it could never be revealed to outsiders.
“Fine. If you were only planning to use it for that purpose anyway…”
Muttering quietly, Yangseol Rin helplessly held out her hand.
“Give it here. Just this once, I’ll make myself useful.”
“No, it’s fine. How could I make such a request?”
“Ah, come on. Before I change my mind, hurry up and hand it over.”
When Yangseol Rin cutely furrowed her brows, Bu Eunseol smiled.
She really was pure and good-hearted like a child.
Even if the Yangseol family had been tainted by evil, Yangseol Rin herself would never be a bad person.
“Thank you so much.”
Bu Eunseol respectfully clasped his hands again.
“I will absolutely never forget this kindness.”
Yangseol Rin huffed through her nose and smiled.
“Of course. I’ll make sure to collect the debt later, with interest.”
“Naturally.”
Unaware of what that “interest” would become in the future, Bu Eunseol once again took out the Boundary Prosperity Jade and offered it.
“Hmm. It’s quite old.”
After examining the bead for a long time, Yangseol Rin murmured, “It seems to have been made in the early period.”
She covered it with both hands.
Then she closed her eyes for a moment.
Shuuu.
A mysterious orange light began to emanate from Yangseol Rin’s body and was soon drawn into the hand holding the Boundary Prosperity Jade.
“Phew.”
Opening her eyes again, she spread her palm.
The once somewhat yellowish Boundary Prosperity Jade was now sparkling like a mystical orange star.
“There. Done.”
“So that’s how it works.”
“What is?”
Looking at the now brilliantly orange Boundary Prosperity Jade, Bu Eunseol nodded faintly.
“This artificial Boundary Prosperity Jade seems to be something that can temporarily hold a special power… perhaps even the same power as one of the One Hundred and Eight Stars.”
“Sharp as ever.”
“Was I right?”
“Close enough.” Yangseol Rin gave a faint smile. “It really can temporarily store the power of one of the One Hundred and Eight Stars.”
In that instant, Bu Eunseol’s eyes flashed.
“Then that means you yourself are one of the One Hundred and Eight Stars.”
“Hahaha. Jealous?”
Yangseol Rin folded her arms and put on an arrogant expression.
“That’s right. This body was born with special power.”
She patted Bu Eunseol’s shoulder.
“Then again, if you had been born with the energy of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars and Seventy-Two Earthly Stars, you wouldn’t have needed the Boundary Prosperity Jade at all.”
‘Wait.’
Hearing her words, Bu Eunseol felt as if cold water had been poured over him, instantly sobering up.
“Then I am not one of the One Hundred and Eight Stars?”
Though Yohee’s prophecy might have been entirely wrong, Bu Eunseol had at least thought that he might be related to the true Demon, or to the Heaven-Dark Star. If neither of those, then perhaps one of the One Hundred and Eight Stars whose power had simply not yet awakened.
After all, he had walked out of the Prison of the Mind World, the Shadow Overlap Path, unscathed.
Yet Yangseol Rin’s reaction…
Didn’t it seem as though she was completely certain he was not one of the One Hundred and Eight Stars?
“What? You actually wanted to be one?”
“How can you be so sure I’m not one of the One Hundred and Eight Stars?”
Yangseol Rin grinned mischievously.
“If you were one of them, this bead wouldn’t have stayed so dull and transparent.” She shrugged. “The Boundary Prosperity Jade subtly absorbs one’s innate temperament. If you were one of the One Hundred and Eight Stars, it would eventually have taken on the corresponding color.”
“But what if the power simply hasn’t awakened yet?”
“Power hasn’t awakened? Why?”
Avoiding her gaze, Bu Eunseol muttered, “Perhaps… I lost my memories.”
“If you lost your memories… well, that could be possible, I suppose.”
Arms still folded, Yangseol Rin nodded, but seeing Bu Eunseol’s serious expression she frowned.
“Wait, is this about you? You don’t have memories?”
“I don’t remember anything from my childhood.”
“I don’t either.” Yangseol Rin smacked her lips. “For some reason, my memories before six or seven years old are completely gone.”
“Same here.”
Bu Eunseol couldn’t hide his surprise. Yangseol Rin also had no memories from that time.
But she didn’t seem particularly shocked and simply nodded calmly.
“Oh? That’s quite a coincidence.”
“Is there no way to distinguish who among us is one of the One Hundred and Eight Stars?”
“Well… there is a way to check if you really want to know whether you are one or not…”
Yangseol Rin’s gaze was fixed on the Boundary Prosperity Jade in Bu Eunseol’s hand.
“Is it possible with this?”
“Yes. Ah—but no, it won’t work.”
“Why not?”
Yangseol Rin shrugged with a troubled look.
“The method of infusing power into the Boundary Prosperity Jade is one of my family’s secret arts. It can never be taught to outsiders.”
“My Lady.”
“Even if I taught you, you wouldn’t be able to do it.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s essentially a Daoist secret art. For someone who has cultivated Demonic energy to master it would take at least ten years of practice.”
Yangseol Rin chuckled and continued,
“The Boundary Prosperity Jade is a kind of inner core, you see. So…”
‘Inner core.’
In that moment, Bu Eunseol recalled the Daoist secret formula that combined the Quanzhen sect’s secret art taught by Gongsun Dana and Hua Tuo’s Five Animals Frolic.
Shuuu.
The orange-tinted Boundary Prosperity Jade suddenly became turbid, like cloudy water.
“What’s this?”
Yangseol Rin opened her mouth in shock as she realized Bu Eunseol had poured energy into it.
“You’ve been practicing some Daoist secret art? A Demonic cultivator?”
Bu Eunseol quickly covered it.
“My sect possesses many inner-family secret arts that take only the strengths of both orthodox and unorthodox schools. In particular, the Heavenly Jade Profound Heaven Secret and the Mountain Soul Infinite Art share the same lineage as Daoist arts.”
When flustered, the lies flowed smoothly.
Yangseol Rin stared at Bu Eunseol suspiciously for a long while, then—
“Pfft!”
She suddenly burst into laughter when she looked at the Boundary Prosperity Jade in his hand.
The bead he held had become completely clear and transparent like water.
“My god, you’re just an ordinary commoner of the world!”
“What does that mean?”
Instead of answering, Yangseol Rin rolled around laughing.
“My stomach hurts!”
“My Lady.”
“You don’t have even the slightest trace of being one of the One Hundred and Eight Stars—no special constitution, no heavenly bone—nothing! Hahaha.”
After laughing for a long time, she put on a solemn expression, patted Bu Eunseol’s shoulder, and gave him a thumbs-up.
“To reach this point with the body of an utterly ordinary mortal—truly impressive.”
Bu Eunseol had already known since the time of the Ten Demon Battle Tournament that he possessed an ordinary body.
“Then I truly am not one of the One Hundred and Eight Stars?”
“Of course not. Even if you lost your memories, once you poured your inner energy into the Boundary Prosperity Jade, there’s no way it would become this transparent.”
At Yangseol Rin’s answer, Bu Eunseol wore a dazed expression.
The Heavenly Sovereign had declared him the Heaven-Dark Star.
The fake Takma had insisted he was the Heavenly-Mandate Star.
Yohee—who had constructed an entire Mind World like the Shadow Overlap Path—was a divine being capable of reading celestial energy.
Yet all of their words had been wrong.
Because this Boundary Prosperity Jade instantly absorbed the energy within the body, it was a treasure that could clearly distinguish truth from falsehood.
Which meant… he truly was not one of the One Hundred and Eight Stars at all, and all the previous wise men and great masters had been mistaken.
“Why do you look so disappointed? You really thought you were one of them?”
“To be honest, yes.”
“Why?”
Bu Eunseol spoke truthfully.
“A person of quite high status and seniority in the martial world told me I was one of the One Hundred and Eight Stars.”
“What did they say?”
Bu Eunseol couldn’t bring himself to say “Heaven-Dark Star.”
“The Heavenly-Mandate Star.”
“Hahaha!”
Yangseol Rin suddenly clutched her stomach and laughed.
“That’s impossible.”
“What’s so different about the Heavenly-Mandate Star?”
“Of course it’s different. The Heavenly-Mandate Star is the leader of the One Hundred and Eight Stars and possesses power equal to the Heaven-Dark Star.”
Yangseol Rin smacked her lips.
“And the Heavenly-Mandate Star has never shone even once until now. So what Heavenly-Mandate Star?”
Bu Eunseol gave a faint smile.
Hearing her words, the unpleasant feeling of perhaps being the Heaven-Dark Star, and the heavy burden of destiny that he might be the Heavenly-Mandate Star who had to save the martial world, both seemed to quietly melt away at the same time.
“I see. It seems they were seeing illusions.”
Bu Eunseol asked casually, “Then is the Heaven-Dark Star still shining?”
“No? It hasn’t since that time.”
“I see.”
For some reason, he felt relieved.
The fact that the Heaven-Dark Star was no longer being sensed meant that Yohee’s prophecy had been entirely wrong.
Perhaps the celestial energy had been constantly changing all this time, and a future different from what Yohee had seen was now unfolding.
“Right, now tell me.”
At that moment Yangseol Rin said, “Exactly why a chaotic energy that disturbs celestial flow emerged from the Divine Maiden Palace.”
Bu Eunseol calmly explained everything.
That he had searched for the Wild Spirit Banner to repay a debt to the Divine Maiden Palace, that as a result he had opened the founder Yohee’s Immortal Crane Annex, that prophetic words about celestial energy had been written there, and that when it finished, a powerful light had shot into the heavens.
However, among the contents of the stone wall, he omitted the part about the arrangement for the Heavenly-Mandate Star, and only told her about the warning regarding the danger of the Heaven-Dark Star.
“Hmm. So even the ancient sages foresaw the danger of the Heaven-Dark Star.”
Yangseol Rin let out a long sigh after hearing everything.
It didn’t seem to surprise her much.
Which meant the Yangseol family too was aware of matters concerning the Heaven-Dark Star.
“However, the talk of it being a being called ‘Ma,’ or that it repeats reincarnation—those are likely exaggerated tales. The sages of old often over-interpreted the texts in the Illuminating Radiance Scripture.”
“Illuminating Radiance Scripture?”
“There’s a book like that.”
Yangseol Rin scratched her cheek and tilted her head.
“But I still don’t understand. Why would someone as wise as Yohee go to the trouble of creating such a secret vault just to convey those words?”
In truth, the reason Yohee created Immortal Crane Annex was so that a divine person bearing the destiny of the Heavenly-Mandate Star would visit the Divine Maiden Palace with the Wild Spirit Banner five hundred years later and awaken the power of the Heavenly-Mandate Star through the Immortal Crane Annex.
Yangseol Rin’s senses were sharp; she had already guessed that there must be another background that made the creation of Immortal Crane Annex inevitable.
“I don’t know. I wasn’t able to examine the interior in detail.”
In fact, Bu Eunseol had intended to say:
‘As an outsider I couldn’t look closely, but it seemed there were secret arts left for the disciples of the Divine Maiden Palace.’
But clumsy lies were easily exposed.
Moreover, it would be strange for the palace to create a vault that disciples could not enter and then hide martial arts inside.
In the end, Bu Eunseol judged that in such situations it was better to simply plead ignorance.
“If you don’t believe me, say so. I can request the palace lord to allow confirmation of the vault.”
After thinking for a moment, Yangseol Rin nodded.
“Fine.”
“I’ll believe you. There’s no need to enter the Divine Maiden Palace anyway.” Then she added, “Besides, the disturbance in celestial energy was only temporary.”
“Thank you for believing me.”
“No need to thank me. Just repay the debt.”
“Of course. Tell me anything.”
Bu Eunseol genuinely felt moved by Yangseol Rin.
She had trusted him, and without any conditions she had first repaired the Boundary Prosperity Jade.
Unlike most martial artists who would never waste even a single piece of information and would always try to maintain the upper hand, Yangseol Rin had firmly believed in him without conditions and resolved his difficulty first.
For that alone, Bu Eunseol was willing to sincerely carry out any request she might make.
“You’re not even going to ask what it is?”
“I believe you are not the kind of person who would deliberately put me in a difficult position.”
“Hm, that’s flattering. But this time it might be a bit troublesome.”
“Tell me. I’ll do my very best.”
“Hmm. Since I’ve incurred another debt this time…”
Yangseol Rin’s cheeks flushed slightly.
“Can you do three things for me?”
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