Bu Eunseol stood with his arms crossed and pondered deeply.
“Should I transform into something that matches the door?”
If there was even the tiniest gap in this Absolute Boundary door, he might be able to pass through it using Wind-Cloud Divine Qi.
Whoosh.
Bu Eunseol spread his Wind-Cloud Divine Qi to its limit and made his body transparent as he approached.
Jiiing.
But this method did not work.
“Then it might require a specific time.”
Since ancient times, one of the most common ways to break certain formations was to enter at a precise moment. Perhaps this Absolute Boundary also demanded special conditions, such as the moon being in a certain position or only opening at a designated time.
“That would be troublesome.”
For example, if this door could only be passed when the full moon rose?
He would have no choice but to wait here for more than ten days.
Since he did not know the exact conditions, it could be half a month or even a full month.
“No, this is the Great Monk’s arrangement.”
Everything here was arranged by the Wood Buddha.
That meant it could not possibly require a long period of time.
“Now I understand why the hegemons of the martial world so desperately sought prophets.”
Before he knew it, he too had come to place absolute trust in the Wood Buddha’s words.
Since the Wood Buddha had arranged this, he was certain that the condition to open the Absolute Boundary here was not time or something he could not break.
“That is how powerful and terrifying the ability called prophecy is.”
Bu Eunseol let out a deep sigh.
With such an incredible ability… it was no wonder he had become prey for so many factions.
He could not even begin to imagine the hardships the Wood Buddha must have endured all this time.
“In any case, it is a condition I can open immediately.”
Bu Eunseol crossed his arms again and fell into deep thought.
Once more, the same question he had pondered earlier rose to the surface.
If Martial God Heaven was here, why had they used supreme weapons like the Ten Cosmic Weapons as bait to make the righteous path martial artists slaughter one another?
Could it be related to that reason?
After thinking carefully, Bu Eunseol found the answer.
“Sacrifice.”
The answer had to be sacrifice.
The island had been stained with blood everywhere because of the slaughter the righteous path martial artists had carried out here.
They had likely needed the blood of righteous path martial artists for some kind of ritual, and had clearly achieved their goal through the Ten Cosmic Weapons.
Shing.
Bu Eunseol immediately drew the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
‘It may be similar to the sorcery that was on the Demonic Swords of the Returning to One Realm.’
In the past, the Returning to One Realm had scattered demonic swords with terrifying abilities.
They made the owners fight one another so that the swords could drink their fill of ‘the blood of countless strong experts,’ and thereby caused inscriptions revealing the location of their base to appear on the blades.
At that time, Bu Eunseol and Do Cheonlin had combined their blood to satisfy the sword’s requirement of ‘the blood of the strong.’
If these people had also performed a ritual using blood as a medium, and had lured countless renowned righteous heroes here to cause them to engage in self-destructive slaughter?
“I can only hope that blood is the key.”
Saaaak.
He slashed his wrist and sprinkled blood on the spot where he expected the Absolute Boundary to be.
Drip, drip, drip.
The moment the red blood fell near the Absolute Boundary,
Chiiii.
White smoke rose, and tiny cracks began to form in the boundary.
‘Done.’
He did not need to break the entire Absolute Boundary.
As long as there was a gap the width of a palm, he could pass through with Wind-Cloud Divine Qi.
Shuuuuk.
Bu Eunseol raised his Wind-Cloud Divine Qi and threw himself into the crack in a single motion.
Shuuuuu.
He immediately felt as if his body were being sucked somewhere.
Even though he was not using any movement technique, fierce wind roared past his ears along with endless darkness. It felt as though he were falling endlessly through a narrow, dark passage into an abyss.
Thud.
Finally, all the darkness lifted and his feet touched solid ground. An astonishing scene unfolded before him.
It was a damp passage so long that its end could not be seen.
When he reached the end of the passage, a vast grand hall spread out before him.
‘This is the Martial God Heaven.’
He could sense it instinctively.
This was the true headquarters of Martial God Heaven.
The ceiling rose so high that its top could not be seen, and faint red jewels were embedded everywhere.
Thanks to them, the interior was dyed in an eerie blood-red light, making the grand hall feel like the inside of a living monster’s mouth.
‘Is it calling me?’
Bu Eunseol felt a strange resonance.
After passing through the grand hall and entering a certain door, he saw a path whose walls were made of smooth black stone. Carved into the walls were characters resembling oracle bone script written in blood, and the thick stench of rotting blood wafted from somewhere. As he continued deeper, the structure became even more complex.
Endless staircases led to twisting corridors.
Dark red mist rose here and there, and every time he blinked, bizarre illusions appeared.
Creak.
When he finally opened the metal door, the sight of a prison for criminals was revealed.
The prison doors lined up on both sides were decorated with sharp, thorn-like patterns.
In the center of the doors stood a giant metal skull.
Only the prison door visible far ahead had dark red flames flickering near the skull’s eye sockets.
Creak.
When he opened the iron door there, an astonishingly wide space appeared.
He had expected a narrow prison cell, but the interior was unexpectedly a massive grand hall.
The floor was as smooth as glass, clear enough to see one’s own face reflected below.
Huge pillars supporting the ceiling burned with blue-flamed torches.
After walking for a long time, at the far end of the hall he saw an old man whose entire body was bound in iron chains.
Step, step.
Bu Eunseol approached the old man without hesitation.
At that moment, the old man’s eyes slowly opened.
They were mysterious eyes where blue light and dark red light intersected and flashed.
The moment their gazes met, Bu Eunseol’s heart pounded.
‘A being beyond humanity.’
The old man was not human.
He instinctively realized that this was another existence merely taking human form.
‘Is that the form of the Heaven's Will Realm?’
For the first time, seeing someone’s appearance made him think of the Heaven's Will Realm.
Considering his belief that had ignored the martial world’s defined system and classification of prowess, he could indirectly glimpse just how extraordinary the aura the old man emitted was… far surpassing any super expert he had seen before.
‘Do humans instinctively try to define and categorize beings stronger than themselves?’
Bu Eunseol smiled bitterly.
He had decided to ignore the established martial arts systems and realms of the martial world, yet the moment he saw this old man, he found himself wondering whether he had reached the Heaven's Will Realm.
Clank.
At that moment, the chained old man looked at Bu Eunseol with sharp eyes and moved his lips very slightly.
“You’ve come again.”
His voice was extremely strange and unique; it seemed to reach straight into the mind through the heart rather than the ears.
“Do you know me?”
“Your face.”
‘My face?’
As Bu Eunseol tilted his head, the old man spoke again.
“So the Wood Buddha sent you.”
‘He has an agreement with the Wood Buddha?’
As if reading Bu Eunseol’s thoughts, the old man moved his lips slightly once more.
“The only one who can allow someone the Heavenly Lord has not permitted to enter this place… is the Wood Buddha alone.”
‘Heavenly Lord.’
Bu Eunseol repeated the words quietly, took a deep breath, and asked, “Are you the Martial God Heaven Lord?”
“Yes.”
It was a short answer.
Yet Bu Eunseol felt as if a massive iron weight had rung above his head.
Martial God Heaven.
One of the True Demon’s subordinates who had transcended humanity had finally revealed himself to the world.
“How truly strange.”
The Martial God Heaven Lord tilted his head as he looked at Bu Eunseol.
“You should be the successor of the Seven-Finger Demon Blade, so why are you carrying a sword?”
From those words, Bu Eunseol grasped one bizarre piece of information.
Even though the Martial God Heaven Lord did not know his true identity, he had concluded that Bu Eunseol was the successor of the Seven-Finger Demon Blade.
‘He knows my face but not my proper identity…’
There was no one in the martial world who did not know him now.
His appearance was the most critical information that every information organization of every faction, and indeed every martial artist who lived by the sword, had to know.
‘He looks like someone who has been imprisoned for a very long time.’
The Martial God Heaven Lord’s skin was deathly pale, as if he had not seen sunlight for decades.
‘Shouldn’t the Martial God Heaven have countless subordinates?’
The fact that he had been imprisoned in a place like this for decades clearly meant there was a special reason.
But the more important fact was… even someone like the Martial God Heaven Lord could not grasp Bu Eunseol’s true background.
‘In the end, it means there is no trace of the Baekri or the True Demon’s energy in my body.’
Feeling inwardly relieved, Bu Eunseol asked again.
“You don’t seem to know me properly, so why do you call me the successor of the Seven-Finger Demon Blade?”
“What a funny guy.”
The Martial God Heaven Lord chuckled and said, “You boldly took it for yourself, and now you’re pretending you don’t know?”
Only then did one of Bu Eunseol’s questions get resolved.
He now understood why the old man had said he knew his ‘face.’
“So you personally saw me take the sword hilt containing the Seven Blood Tear Forms that was hidden in this cave.”
The entity that had been watching everything from beyond the door before he entered.
It had been the Martial God Heaven Lord himself.
“Hmph.”
The Martial God Heaven Lord snorted instead of answering, but that was enough.
Another long-held question was resolved.
Why they had used the treasure known as the Ten Cosmic Weapons as bait to lure righteous path heroes here and make them destroy one another…
“So the reason you caused a treasure-grabbing war with the Ten Cosmic Weapons was…”
He took a deep breath and continued.
“…ultimately an arrangement to break the seal that binds Martial God Heaven.”
“Hoo.”
The Martial God Heaven Lord narrowed his eyes in surprise.
“From just one sentence of this Heavenly Lord, you guessed all that.”
He snorted again.
“Not only incredibly sharp, but you also know about this Heaven.”
The Martial God Heaven Lord scanned Bu Eunseol’s body with mysteriously flashing eyes.
“It’s hard to believe that a mere green youth who hasn’t even undergone rejuvenation… is speaking so casually in front of this Heavenly Lord.”
Considering the weight of the name Four Divine Heavens, from his perspective, Bu Eunseol must seem no more than a mere insect.
But there was one thing the Martial God Heaven Lord did not know even in his dreams:
Bu Eunseol, regardless of his identity, did not feel even a shred of fear.
“I don’t understand.” Bu Eunseol slowly shook his head and asked. “You knew the sword hilt containing the Seven Blood Tear Forms was stored here.”
“Why did I just watch without doing anything?”
“That’s right.”
Bu Eunseol wore an expression of genuine incomprehension.
“Didn’t you want to obtain my grandfather’s blade manual?”
“Grandfather?”
This time the Martial God Heaven Lord reacted strongly.
“The Seven-Finger Demon Blade is your grandfather?”
“Yes.”
“Hahaha…”
The Martial God Heaven Lord lowered his head and laughed quietly, then “Hahahaha!”
He clutched his forehead and burst into wild laughter.
Bu Eunseol felt pain as if his skull and eardrums would tear, yet he maintained a calm expression.
“So you are Bu Zhanyang’s bloodline. I’ll tell you the reason.”
The Martial God Heaven Lord gazed into the air with a face full of deep emotion.
“He defeated this Heavenly Lord.”
Bu Eunseol was not particularly surprised.
If it was his grandfather, he could have cut down not only a heavenly expert but even a True Demon.
“And he separated the sword hilt from the blade of the great sword, hiding each in this Heavenly Lord’s domain, and imprisoned this Heavenly Lord here forever.”
Clank.
The Martial God Heaven Lord looked down at the chains binding his body and said, “As if making me the gatekeeper of a treasure vault.”
A subtle change crossed Bu Eunseol’s face, which had remained calm until now.
In short, his grandfather had defeated the Martial God Heaven Lord, hidden the blade and hilt here, and imprisoned him here forever just to use him as a gatekeeper?
“If you were defeated by my grandfather, that should have been the end of it. Why become a gatekeeper?”
“Because leaving this domain would kill me.”
“Domain.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes sparkled as he looked around.
He had never paid much attention to the word “domain” before, but if that was the case, then the Martial God Heaven Lord, like the One Hundred and Eight Stars, could completely dominate a certain space within his grasp.
“You’re saying this enormous underground fortress was not actually built, but is the domain of Martial God Heaven?”
“Not the domain of Martial God Heaven, but the domain of this Heavenly Lord.”
The vast space stretching from the cave entrance and the scale of this grand hall were larger than any underground fortress built by the Three Realms.
And all of it was simply a domain created by the power of the Martial God Heaven Lord alone.
“Why did my grandfather hide the sword here?”
After hearing that he had been defeated by his grandfather and imprisoned here, Bu Eunseol had thought he would not be able to obtain any more significant information.
But the Martial God Heaven Lord surprisingly answered everything willingly.
“He said he heard a prophecy.”
“A prophecy?”
“That in this Heavenly Lord’s domain, the successor who would inherit all of his power would obtain the blade manual.”
‘The Wood Buddha.’
Bu Eunseol instinctively realized it.
His grandfather had also met the Wood Buddha and heard a prophecy from him.
‘Then did Grandfather already know from the beginning that I would obtain the blade manual?’
After pondering for a while, he shook his head.
His grandfather had desperately wished for him to live an ordinary life and had never taught him any martial arts that could harm others.
He had even poured all his strength into creating a body for him so he could live ordinarily.
How could he have left behind such a blade manual for him?
“Did my grandfather really do that?”
“Yes.”
The Martial God Heaven Lord said, “Though he did say, ‘Even if I leave behind something like a blade manual, it won’t be usable anyway. I don’t understand why I have to leave it.’”
‘So that was it.’
Having grasped the whole situation, Bu Eunseol snorted.
His grandfather had already retired from the martial world more than thirty years ago, before Bu Eunseol was even born.
That meant he had left behind the gauntlet and blade manual during the height of his active years in the martial world.
And leaving the blade manual and gauntlet here may not have been his own will… but something he did after meeting the Wood Buddha and hearing the prophecy.
“Why didn’t you look at my grandfather’s blade manual?”
When Bu Eunseol asked in confusion, the Martial God Heaven Lord narrowed his eyes.
“I didn’t even know where it was hidden. I only learned its location when you took it.”
He wore a hollow expression.
“Even if I had found it, I wouldn’t have been able to use it anyway.”
The Seven Blood Tear Forms of the Seven-Finger Demon Blade could only be used by someone whose mind and martial prowess perfectly matched it. Even Bu Eunseol, who could be called Bu Zhanyang’s other self, had still not fully mastered the Seven Blood Tear Forms.
“So you’ve been staying here all this time?”
“Yes. Since leaving the domain would kill me, I had no choice but to stay here and search for a successor.”
The Martial God Heaven Lord cried out in a voice filled with deep resentment.
“While waiting for the day I could chew and swallow Bu Zhanyang’s heart.”
Only then did Bu Eunseol realize why the Martial God Heaven Lord had answered all his questions so obediently.
His grudge ran deep. He intended to reveal everything, let Bu Eunseol know the full truth, and then tear him apart and drink his blood in one go.
“Was it because of the pride of a Divine Heaven Lord?”
“What nonsense.”
“Even if Martial God Heaven has no subordinates…”
Bu Eunseol wore an expression of incomprehension.
“There are many subordinates of the True Demon in the martial world. Why didn’t you ask them for help?”
When he subtly probed, the Martial God Heaven Lord’s eyes flashed.
“You know nothing. The blade technique used by Bu Zhanyang…”
He was about to say something when he scanned Bu Eunseol with flashing eyes.
“But are you really Bu Zhanyang’s grandson? How do you know nothing?”
“I am his grandson. I simply never heard these stories.”
Bu Eunseol answered honestly.
“I also don’t understand why Grandfather did not seek out and eliminate the True Demon…”
“What a funny guy.”
Even at Bu Eunseol’s provocation, the Martial God Heaven Lord only smiled with ridicule.
“That person is a divine being who protects the law, maintains balance, follows the way of heaven, and transcends all existence. And…”
He then spoke shocking words.
“The True Demon that you martial artists always speak of… its symbol is actually much closer to the true nature of the Seven-Finger Demon Blade, Bu Zhanyang.”
“Nonsense.”
“Hahaha.”
The Martial God Heaven Lord laughed quietly as if recalling something.
“Now that I think about it, you only took the hilt that contained the blade manual.”
He raised the corner of his mouth and said, “Go find Bu Zhanyang’s great sword and check inside the blade. There, the past secrets, sins, and truth that Bu Zhanyang wanted to hide are concealed.”
“The blade… contains Grandfather’s sins?”
Bu Eunseol frowned.
He had known for a long time that his grandfather had made mistakes and committed sins.
But to hide such things inside the blade of the great sword?
How could he have done something so dangerous with a weapon that could be stolen?
‘Then Grandfather must have stored secrets that absolutely had to be passed on to future generations.’
“Who took the great sword?”
“I don’t know. This Heavenly Lord was merely watching.”
“If you saw it directly, you should at least know the characteristics of the one who took it?”
The Martial God Heaven Lord snorted.
“I told you this much only because you are Bu Zhanyang’s grandson. Because I must resolve this Heavenly Lord’s deep-seated grudge.”
“What do you mean?”
He spoke with the most murderous gaze.
“So that before you die, you can resent your grandfather after learning the truth, of course.”
The reason the Martial God Heaven Lord had revealed everything so obediently was nothing more than groundwork for his satisfying revenge.
‘So it was a bad relationship after all.’
He had hoped that since the Martial God Heaven Lord answered so willingly, he might hear about his grandfather’s hidden actions, or that perhaps he had a good connection with his grandfather.
But in the end, he was an enemy he would have to risk his life to fight.
“Don’t even think of running away.”
The Martial God Heaven Lord smiled cruelly.
“Once you have entered this Heavenly Lord’s domain, you can never escape.”
“There is no need for that, so make your move.”
At Bu Eunseol’s far too calm response, the Martial God Heaven Lord began scanning his body and posture thoroughly with flashing eyes.
“Your body is well-trained. You learned martial arts systematically from a young age.”
Bu Eunseol could neither confirm nor deny it.
Even when he was in Saha Manor, he had surely learned martial arts, and while working with his grandfather as a mortician, he had received various powers because of his weak body.
Through that process, he had inherited countless martial arts and mental techniques, so it was essentially the same as having trained systematically.
“In any case, this Heaven has finally welcomed a new Heavenly Lord… Now I can grind you to death and sleep peacefully.”
‘Successor.’
Bu Eunseol felt a chill in his chest.
That meant the old man before him was the previous Martial God Heaven Lord, and a new one had been born.
“There is a current Martial God Heaven Lord?”
“Yes. He was the most suitable person for this Heavenly Lord’s purpose.”
The Martial God Heaven Lord wore a proud expression.
“Now the martial world will fall into chaos. And the beginning will be this Heaven.”
“Who is he?”
“Ask King Yama.”
Clank.
When he took one step, the chains wrapped around his entire body rang loudly.
The shaking chains moved smoothly like glittering ropes rather than metal.
Now, only the decisive battle with the Martial God Heaven Lord remained.
‘I cannot lose even in the contest of momentum.’
After thinking for a moment, Bu Eunseol smiled.
“Martial God Heaven Lord, you have already lost.”
“What?”
“Have you forgotten why I came here?”
The Wood Buddha was someone who could read heavenly secrets.
There was no way he would not have foreseen that Bu Eunseol and the Martial God Heaven Lord would meet.
That meant… the one who would be defeated could only be the Martial God Heaven Lord.
“Hahahaha!”
The Martial God Heaven Lord instead burst into loud laughter.
“Surely you don’t think the Wood Buddha is a righteous prophet?”
Then he spoke with absolute certainty.
“The Wood Buddha is an existence of chaos who disturbs the world even more than the Demon Lords.”
He continued with shocking words.
“On the contrary, because he exists, and because of his prophecies, the world has become even more turbid.”
Bu Eunseol was not particularly surprised.
He could not say it openly, but he partly agreed with those words.
He did not know if the Wood Buddha was truly a being of chaos, but the mere existence of such a prophet, and even a single word from him, was enough to throw the martial world into great turmoil.
“What does that matter?”
“What?”
“It is not the prophecy that is bad, but the people who blindly follow it.”
If the Wood Buddha reveals heavenly secrets, he receives heavenly punishment.
In the end, those who demanded the prophecies were the hegemons of the martial world, and those who were swayed by them were also them.
A person with firm conviction like Bu Eunseol, who silently walks his own path, would never be shaken or dominated by something like a prophecy from the beginning.
“You have served as the gatekeeper here for a long time under my grandfather’s command…”
Shing.
The moment he drew the Silent Tiger Soul Sword, five-colored light burst from Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
“Now I shall take back that command.”
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