“Amitabha.”
The Buddha Venerable, with palms joined in prayer, looked at Bu Eunseol and gave a gentle smile.
“It has been a long time, benefactor.”
“Great Master.”
Though their paths diverged, Bu Eunseol bowed with utmost respect.
Even when they had met in the Martial Alliance under his identity as Seolso, the master had mistaken him for a promising young orthodox talent and imparted profound insights.
When they later met in his true identity, the master had once saved him from an unavoidable ambush by the Heavenly King.
“What brings the Great Master here?”
Yet despite that, Bu Eunseol could not help showing a trace of wariness in his eyes.
He had deliberately exposed his movements openly, and of all people, the Buddha Venerable had appeared as though waiting for him?
That meant the master had long been mobilizing intelligence networks to track his whereabouts.
Which inevitably raised the suspicion: Could this not be one of the supreme experts secretly targeting him while concealing their identity?
“I heard you accomplished a great feat, so I came especially for that reason.”
A light of admiration shimmered in the Buddha Venerable’s eyes.
He had likely come because he knew Bu Eunseol had defeated the Spear-Wielder.
‘There is no helping this.’
Bu Eunseol wore a bitter expression.
The battle with the Fist Man had been sudden and perfectly concealed, so only those within their own family—including the core members of Nangyang Pavilion—knew of it. But the Spear-Wielder had arrived backed by the Eastern Division, and Bu Eunseol had fought him openly to protect Yoo Unryong and the others.
In other words, it had been a public confrontation, so the news inevitably spread through various intelligence networks.
‘He came with a tail attached.’
Bu Eunseol sensed a faint presence hidden in the forest behind the Buddha Venerable.
Judging by the modest qi, it seemed to be a low-ranking disciple of Shaolin.
“A great feat, you say…”
Bu Eunseol began to speak, then—as though something occurred to him—asked instead, “In fact, I myself was intending to seek out the Great Master. There are many things I have been curious about.”
He deliberately shifted the topic by positioning himself as the one asking questions of the Buddha Venerable.
The first reason was to block any attempt by the master to praise him while subtly extracting information about the Spear-Wielder or his own martial level.
The second was that in their previous encounter, the Buddha Venerable had cited a lack of time and departed after only a few words of conversation.
If he planned to do the same this time?
Bu Eunseol intended to take the initiative in the dialogue and at least fire off a few quick questions to obtain answers.
“Would it be all right if I asked about the various things on my mind?”
As though he had seen through Bu Eunseol’s intention, the Buddha Venerable gave a faint smile and nodded.
“Ask away.”
“Very well.”
Taking a deep breath, Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.
“Do you know of an entity called the True Demon?”
“I do.”
“Then why did you not stop him?”
The Buddha Venerable sighed and shook his head.
“Unfortunately, this old monk is too aged. Even if I could handle a demonic-path or divine-path benefactor… this body cannot surpass the limits of the Human Heavens.”
‘Even a holy monk of Buddhism tells lies?’
Among the Three Demons and Three Sovereigns, the Buddha Venerable not only had the highest seniority, but the true extent of his martial prowess had never been clearly revealed.
People generally ranked the Martial Venerable first and the Sword Venerable last, based on a single statement once made by Weiji Mu-a to the disciples of the Hwa Wu Sword Sect:
“The head of the Three Demons and Three Sovereigns should naturally be the Martial Venerable, with the Sword Venerable at the very bottom.”
From that, people naturally assumed the Buddha Venerable fell somewhere in the middle.
But there was a shocking omitted detail in the rumor:
“However, the Buddha Venerable’s martial level cannot be judged. Because no one knows… where his true martial level truly lies.”
Weiji Mu-a had given two reasons for saying this.
First, the Buddha Venerable had never once publicly displayed Infinite Reversal Power.
He had simply been called a holy monk for over a hundred years—long before the Three Demons and Three Sovereigns were even born—so it was assumed he had entered Limitless Realm, and that his Infinite Reversal Power would be rooted in the compassionate martial arts of Buddhism.
Second, he had never revealed his true martial level.
The sole exception was more than a decade ago, when he clashed with the Blood Demon Jeok Bung; the Blood Demon suffered a slight setback.
That proved only that he was at minimum not the lowest among the Three Demons and Three Sovereigns…
Whether the narrow victory stemmed from his compassionate nature holding back, or whether it truly reflected his full power, no one could say for certain.
‘He must be on par with the Martial Venerable.’
Yet Bu Eunseol judged that the Buddha Venerable possessed tremendous skill comparable to the Martial Venerable.
In the past, with a single sentence, the master had imparted insights that amplified the power of the Martial Emperor’s supreme secret art, the Thirteen Guiding Energies and more recently, he had driven away the terrifying Sword Venerable with a single move, as though shooing a dog.
“You are being humble.”
In the end, Bu Eunseol framed the master’s words as humility.
Because he wanted to keep hearing answers to his many questions, he did not press whether it was genuine humility or the truth.
“The Great Master is like a living witness to martial history. Even without martial arts, are you not in a position to guide many people?”
The Buddha Venerable smiled faintly.
“That is precisely why this old monk came.”
He continued calmly.
“Though my martial arts are unremarkable, I have ceaselessly striven to nurture the pillars of the martial world. And that was…”
Profound light flowed from the Buddha Venerable’s narrowed eyes.
“…to protect the world and its people from corrupt forces.”
“By corrupt forces, do you mean the Three Realms?”
The Buddha Venerable gave an enigmatic reply.
“Are the corrupt forces in the martial world only them?”
His eyes flashed as he continued.
“Take the Eight Human Heavens alone—they arbitrarily stir the martial world and seek to bend everything to their will.”
“Are not the kin of the True Demon inherently evil from the start?”
Bu Eunseol furrowed his brow.
“It seems incorrect to call them merely ‘corrupt.’”
“Not all the kin of the True Demon can be called evil. They each hold their own convictions.”
“Convictions?”
“They merely yearn for the True Demon’s resurrection. Only a few among them harbor other intentions.”
It was a shocking statement.
That meant not all the True Demon’s kin were united in pursuing his revival—some subordinates harbored ulterior motives?
“When you say you tried to protect the world from corrupt forces… does that mean the Great Master has been secretly raising powerhouses to oppose the Eight Human Heavens?”
“I will not deny it.”
A sharp glint flashed in Bu Eunseol’s narrowed eyes.
So the Buddha Venerable had been covertly cultivating supreme experts all this time?
“Could it be… the Golden True Dragon Baek Museong?”
“Of course not.”
The Buddha Venerable shook his head with a pained expression.
“You know as well, benefactor. For any plan to proceed perfectly… the foremost prerequisite is that the information must never leak to the outside.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed to slits.
He realized the “any plan” referred to the Absolute Demonic Blade Project.
‘But that makes no sense.’
Though the plan had been led by the previous Martial Alliance Leader Cheol Muhon… it had been executed from Shaolin.
There was no way the Buddha Venerable could have been unaware.
No—he must have been deeply involved.
Yet the Absolute Demonic Blade Project had been carried out decades ago and ended in failure.
The timing did not match taking Baek Museong as a disciple.
“Taking a secular disciple so late was partly at someone’s request, but it was also an effort to divert attention.”
Hearing those words, Bu Eunseol felt a chill.
In the end, the Buddha Venerable had not taken Baek Museong as a disciple out of personal desire.
He had deliberately accepted him to scatter external scrutiny?
Judging from the pained expression on the Buddha Venerable’s face as he faintly closed his eyes, it seemed to be the truth.
‘Then apart from the Absolute Demonic Blade Project, he has recently carried out something else…’
Profound light flowed from Bu Eunseol’s eyes as he sank into deep thought.
‘And for that purpose, he accepted Baek Museong as a disciple?’
At last Bu Eunseol understood why, in his old age, the Buddha Venerable had taken such a young disciple—and a secular one at that, and why Baek Museong, despite having such an exceptional master, had wandered the martial world in secrecy.
‘A disposable piece.’
To the Buddha Venerable, Baek Museong had been a discardable pawn.
And Baek Museong himself must have known it well.
‘Perhaps even his wandering the martial world while performing good deeds was a desperate struggle to prove he was not merely a disposable piece.’
“Great Master.”
Erasing the rising thoughts from his mind, Bu Eunseol let out a deep sigh.
That Baek Museong had inevitably fallen to the temptations of the Three Realms…
From another perspective, was it not entirely the Buddha Venerable’s fault?
“How could a high monk of Buddhism, whose root is compassion, commit such cruelty?”
Though the words were unfit coming from the Martial Soul Command Lord, heir to Majeon, he could not help uttering them, knowing well the fragility of Baek Museong’s heart.
“If this old monk does not go to hell, who will?”
The Buddha Venerable spoke with a wretched expression.
“Because the Absolute Demonic Blade Project was leaked, countless geniuses lost their lives. I could not repeat such a mistake.”
Only now did Bu Eunseol realize.
“The Great Master did not merely cooperate—you were one of the leaders of the Absolute Demonic Blade Project alongside the previous Alliance Leader Cheol Muhon.”
Instead of answering, the Buddha Venerable closed both eyes.
It was silent affirmation.
‘So that was it.’
The Buddha Venerable had been a central figure in executing the Absolute Demonic Blade Project.
It had failed, costing countless lives and because of that, he had carried the burden in his heart for the rest of his life.
“Even before that… everything was a failure.”
The Buddha Venerable spoke in a low voice.
“After several setbacks, I finally thought a perfect plan had been created… yet instead, all the talents who could have reached the Absolute Demonic Blade Project were sacrificed at once.”
Muttering lowly, he shook his head.
“But the greatest reason for the failure… was that Moryun’s prophecy had been wrong from the beginning.”
In that instant, a passing thought struck Bu Eunseol.
“Could it be… now?”
“Correct.”
The Buddha Venerable nodded.
“The era of annihilation that Moryun prophesied is precisely this generation.”
Gazing at the distant sky, the Buddha Venerable’s eyes were filled with regret.
Seeing that expression, Bu Eunseol realized something.
“Then… did you restart the Absolute Demonic Blade Project?”
“Yes.”
The Buddha Venerable spoke softly.
“Learning from past failures, I prepared a new Absolute Demonic Blade Project. And this time, it succeeded.”
Bu Eunseol could not close his mouth.
The Absolute Demonic Blade Project had ended in miserable failure—it should never have been attempted again.
Yet a sage like the Buddha Venerable had repeated the same error.
“Alas.”
At that moment, the Buddha Venerable, gazing at the distant sky, muttered something incomprehensible.
“It has come to this again.”
Shaking his head as though reluctant, he said, “But this time, even if there is no time, I must make some.”
‘Who is watching this situation?’
He spread his super-senses, but the only thing he detected was the faint presence hidden in the forest.
“There is no time, so I will speak plainly of my business.”
The Buddha Venerable delivered the most shocking words.
“Participate in the new Absolute Demonic Blade Project.”
“What do you mean?”
Bu Eunseol could not comprehend.
The Buddha Venerable himself had said the new plan had already succeeded.
Yet suddenly he was being asked to join it?
“As its leader and overseer.”
The Buddha Venerable nodded toward the forest.
A man carrying a greatsword slowly emerged.
Bu Eunseol was slightly surprised.
He had sensed the presence earlier and assumed it was a low-level Shaolin disciple with weak martial arts.
But upon revealing himself, the man possessed a far more formidable aura than expected.
“How about it?”
“Leader…”
Hearing that word, Bu Eunseol could guess how the Buddha Venerable had restarted the Absolute Demonic Blade Project.
The previous plan had aimed to select only one person—and failed because of it.
This time, he had clearly selected several and ranked them by strength.
“Great Master. Are you telling me to defect to the orthodox path now?”
“What meaning do orthodox and demonic hold for you, benefactor?”
The Buddha Venerable spoke calmly.
“Was it not all for revenge?”
In that instant, flames sparked in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
As expected.
All this time, the supreme figures of the martial world had known his true identity and his connection to his grandfather.
Even this so-called living Buddha.
“How can a man of Buddhism speak of revenge?”
At his needle-sharp words, the Buddha Venerable merely wore a quiet smile.
“Since the time I first prepared the Absolute Demonic Blade Project long ago, this old monk has been prepared to descend into hell.”
That smile was utterly serene, yet to Bu Eunseol’s eyes, it looked more wretched than if the master had shed tears.
‘He has broken.’
Bu Eunseol could feel it.
The Buddha Venerable had lived far too long.
Swallowed by regret and remorse for past failures… he had ultimately become a monster.
A wretched specter consumed by desperate obsession to somehow undo his old mistakes.
“Since you make such an offer, does that mean there is benefit in it for me as well?”
“Speak your desire.”
Without hesitation, Bu Eunseol answered immediately.
“I want the culprit who killed my grandfather.”
“This old monk investigated that incident for a long time as well. But in the end, I could not uncover the truth.”
The Buddha Venerable let out a profoundly deep sigh.
“I can assert with certainty: aside from the culprit himself, no one knows the exact truth of the Seven-Finger Demon Blade’s death.”
“What do you mean?”
“When even after such long pursuit no clues are found, there is only one possibility.”
In a turbid voice, the Buddha Venerable continued.
“It was not the work of any organization or sect with intent, but the personal act of an individual with a special story.”
He added, “The Demon Blade’s swordsmanship was peerless under heaven. The very fact that he died so miserably at someone’s hands was itself bizarre.”
Bu Eunseol’s expression turned wretched.
If someone of the Buddha Venerable’s caliber made such a firm assertion?
Then surely his grandfather’s death was not simple—it must be shrouded in extremely complex circumstances.
“However, it is certain that the Returning to One Realm took away the Seven-Finger Demon Blade’s corpse.”
“Returning to One Realm.”
Bu Eunseol clenched his fist tightly.
That was a fact he already knew.
But recalling once more that they had touched his grandfather’s remains filled him with uncontrollable rage.
‘No matter what else, I will utterly destroy the Returning to One Realm!’
“He cannot become the leader.”
At that moment, the man who had been standing silently suddenly spoke while looking at Bu Eunseol.
“You are shallower than I thought. Just now, your spirit collapsed.”
Bu Eunseol raised one eyebrow.
To see through the state of his spirit, which had reached Spirit Penetration Vision?
When their gazes met, a bizarre gleam flashed in the greatsword-bearing man’s eyes.
‘He has learned some strange great art.’
Not only was the man’s martial arts high, he seemed to have mastered a special great art or secret technique that allowed him to peer into an opponent’s spiritual state.
Siiik.
Meeting his gaze, the man gave Bu Eunseol a cold smile.
He was now provoking Bu Eunseol—challenging him to fight.
“That is why he is strong.”
At that moment, the Buddha Venerable wore a faint smile.
“Because his affections run so deep, he can reach the pinnacle of martial arts. Just like the Seven-Finger Demon Blade.”
The man said nothing, but the furrow in his brow showed he did not agree with the Buddha Venerable’s words.
“I have no interest.”
Bu Eunseol declared firmly.
“Whether as overseer or manager—I will not dip my foot into such matters.”
Now he understood.
The Buddha Venerable was no longer a compassionate figure of Buddhism, but a specter trapped in the past.
Through this conversation, much of his respect for the master had vanished.
“In truth, I have no interest at all. Whether in the True Demon or the annihilation of the martial world.”
At Bu Eunseol’s cold reply, the Buddha Venerable spoke with regret.
“Must you not carry on the will of the Seven-Finger Demon Blade?”
The moment the Buddha Venerable invoked his grandfather to persuade him, revulsion surged within Bu Eunseol.
“My grandfather must have regretted the past.”
He stared at the Buddha Venerable with eyes as sharp as a blade.
“Otherwise, he would not have hidden his identity and lived as a mortician.”
Gazing into Bu Eunseol’s ice-cold eyes, the Buddha Venerable sighed.
He realized Bu Eunseol would absolutely never join his plan.
“Clinging to the past causes one to lose the present; being bound by the past leads only to suffering.”
Wearing a compassionate smile, the Buddha Venerable said,
“Do you understand the meaning of this old monk’s words?”
“Haha.”
Bu Eunseol laughed lowly.
He could no longer endure the Buddha Venerable’s loathsomeness.
In the end, he abandoned his previously polite tone and spoke in his original cold voice.
“It seems the Great Master himself has not escaped that very principle.”
In an instant, the Buddha Venerable’s expression changed completely.
It was no longer the compassionate living Buddha.
Instead, it twisted into the bizarre grimace of a newborn infant tasting something bitter and astringent for the first time.
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