“My Lord?”
At that moment, a small, low voice was heard.
In an instant, all the illusions that had appeared before Bu Eunseol’s eyes vanished completely.
“What happened?”
Until now, Bu Eunseol had been receiving the memories contained within the bead.
However, from Gongsun Dankyung’s perspective, he had simply been standing frozen with his eyes wide open.
“This is…”
Bu Eunseol could not hide his confusion.
Judging from the history of the Ancient Sword Forest, it must span at least several hundred years. No, it would easily exceed a thousand years. Moreover, wasn’t the previous Biyeon someone who had lived so long that she treated the elderly Seok Chi-haeng like a child?
The time between when the two were born must differ by at least several hundred years.
How could the founder of the Ancient Sword Forest and his mother look so strikingly similar?
‘Is this what they call reincarnation?’
“What’s wrong?”
Snapping out of his thoughts at Gongsun Dankyung’s question, Bu Eunseol shook his head.
“I received memories from inside this bead.”
He then relayed everything he had seen and heard within the bead to her.
He even told her that the secret canyon located in Gumo Canyon in Xinjiang was the true headquarters of the Ancient Sword Forest, which was spread across the entire Central Plains.
“I see.”
Gongsun Dankyung took a deep breath.
The bead Bu Eunseol had brought was given to him by the boy who led the smaller Ancient Sword Forest by the Hyungsan Sect, pleading for him to save the Lord.
If the Lord of the Ancient Sword Forest was truly in that canyon, there might be enemies even she could not handle.
‘But he will never lead a large force or bring highly skilled subordinates with him.’
That was how he had always been.
Because he believed that he must bear every danger on his own shoulders.
‘Even if I try to stop him, he won’t listen.’
When Gongsun Dankyung made a resigned expression,
“I will go and quietly observe the situation.”
Bu Eunseol, who had guessed her inner thoughts, spoke with a confident look.
“I will absolutely not take any reckless risks.”
“Then please promise me one thing.”
Gongsun Dankyung spoke with endlessly serious and resolute eyes.
“If you feel any danger, you must not confront it and will immediately retreat.”
Bu Eunseol did not fear trials, and no matter what powerful enemy appeared, he never fled.
But this matter…
For some reason, he had an ominous premonition that a terrifying enemy even he might not be able to handle would appear.
“That is…”
“Is it not possible?”
Seeing Gongsun Dankyung’s earnest gaze, Bu Eunseol unknowingly nodded.
“Understood. If I judge it to be dangerous, I will immediately retreat.”
“Thank you.”
Gongsun Dankyung showed a bright smile.
It was like the praising smile one would give to a well-behaved child.
‘Something about this situation feels strange.’
When Bu Eunseol made an awkward expression, Gongsun Dankyung smiled softly with eyes full of trust.
“Take care and come back safely.”
If one is worried, one can predict the future or prepare for emergencies.
But if that is not possible?
Then, one must simply do as she was doing now.
Show an endlessly firm smile of trust.
***
After leaving the Azure Heaven Alliance, Bu Eunseol unleashed his full-powered light footwork and immediately headed toward Gumo Canyon.
The one fortunate thing was that Soyo had still not returned from Mount Baekdu.
This matter was far too dangerous.
That was why Soyo would have tried to follow him.
But if there was someone capable of threatening the Lord of the Ancient Sword Forest, that person would be a supreme expert who could look down upon the entire world. This investigation had to be done alone.
‘Perhaps Grandfather also walked the path of solitude for the same reason.’
The level of martial arts among the strong of the martial world was rising higher and higher. Currently, even the abyss forces, including the United Heart Society, were producing young experts capable of facing supreme masters who could gaze down upon the world.
It was now impossible to know what kind of powerful enemies would appear in the future, and even Bu Eunseol could no longer guarantee an easy victory.
‘If I am alone, I can somehow escape with my body, but if I have comrades or subordinates, that becomes impossible.’
In the current martial world, superiority in numbers no longer held great importance.
A single supreme expert could sweep away an entire sect, and the balance of power among factions could shift in an instant depending on their actions.
Even though the righteous factions had been gaining the upper hand for a long time, the reason the solitary and arrogant Demon Emperor had not reacted much was perhaps because he knew that things like the sphere of influence of the righteous path or the demonic path, or balance, had become meaningless.
As Bu Eunseol was executing his light footwork and entered Xinjiang,
He transformed into the appearance of Seolso.
There was no need to deliberately raise his internal energy to use the Face and Bone Shifting Art.
Thanks to the power he had absorbed from Hwa Mugi’s body, he could now completely change his outer appearance, internal organ positions, and even the flow of his blood vessels with just a thought.
Whoosh!
Bu Eunseol, who had been racing forward while creating a whirlwind, soon arrived at Gumo Canyon.
Upon reaching the canyon, he found the hidden secret entrance he had seen in the bead’s illusion.
The cave-like entrance was located between naturally formed canyon walls, and every time the wind blew, desert sand would pile up and naturally cover the entrance. Therefore, there was no need to artificially conceal or hide it. The terrain itself naturally blocked outsiders from approaching.
Inside the cave-like entrance, a large door engraved with mysterious patterns came into view.
The patterns appeared to depict the constellations of the desert region and the position of the sun. To open this door, it seemed one would need to align the patterns so that the desert constellations and shadows reached specific positions.
“It means those who are not versed in heavenly patterns and earthly principles should not even approach.”
Heavenly patterns and earthly principles referred to all phenomena and truths of the world, including the images of the heavens and the formations of the land. The true headquarters of the Ancient Sword Forest was designed so that only those with the correct heart state through Heart Energy Flow and those with extensive knowledge could enter.
“Troublesome.”
Bu Eunseol began to match the patterns engraved on the door.
Having broken through numerous traps and experienced many trials and crises during his journeys in the martial world, he had long since become a master deeply versed in formations.
Especially since formations were often created based on the constellations of the heavens, Bu Eunseol had naturally gained profound knowledge regarding the movements of celestial signs.
Clink.
As he quickly aligned the patterns, the door opened, and a mysterious sound like an ancient instrument being played echoed.
Passing through the open door, another massive stone door appeared.
It was carved with two dragons biting each other’s tails.
As he approached, the door strangely opened by itself.
It was as if it was welcoming him into a new world.
“It feels like looking at an ancient holy capital.”
Upon entering, a breathtaking scenery unfolded.
The interior was like an ancient holy capital.
There was a wide space where many people could walk, and in the center was an artificial waterfall that looked as if it had been made from crystal.
Around the waterfall, which reflected brilliant multicolored light under the sunlight, golden stones were laid out, sparkling as if the stars of heaven had descended.
Far in the distance stood a building in the shape of a temple dedicated to a god.
The roof of the building was painted white, and in its center rose a tall staircase that seemed to touch the sky.
“Is that it?”
Bu Eunseol walked toward the staircase as if drawn to it.
Upon ascending, he found a round structure that appeared to be for observing and recording the movements of celestial signs, and from somewhere, the sound of water droplets falling could be heard.
“This is…”
As he went deeper inside, there was a round grand hall, and in front of it stood an oval structure placed vertically. Upon entering the structure, the interior was engraved with lights resembling the heavens and galaxies, and in the center was an empty hole.
“Am I supposed to insert this?”
Bu Eunseol placed the bead from his bosom into the central hole.
Clank. Whirr.
A heavy mechanical sound rang out, and the wall in front opened once more to the left and right, revealing a space just large enough for a person to stand in.
“Hmm.”
Bu Eunseol hesitated for a moment.
Entering such a space recklessly could be dangerous.
“……”
After examining the interior for a long time, Bu Eunseol nodded.
‘If they intended to deal with outsiders or intruders, they would not have specifically required the bead from the Ancient Sword Forest.’
Even if the inner space was a trap, he was confident he could break through it.
Without hesitation, he stepped inside.
Clank. Rumble.
The door that had opened slowly closed, and Bu Eunseol was plunged into perfect darkness.
―He who was born as my twin star… is a being called the ‘True Demon’ by the people of the world.
The woman’s voice that had been injected into the bead began to echo inside the pitch-black space.
Moreover, the very first words were shockingly stating that she was the True Demon’s twin.
―We were born as one body.
―Then he must surely possess a good heart and a clear mind as well.
―I have made my descendants continuously guide and enlighten him. I have made countless arrangements so that his heart may change.
―While he repeatedly reincarnates… I hoped that the demonic nature staining his heart would fade.
A faint light leaked from inside, and a low voice echoed once more in Bu Eunseol’s ears.
―But at that time, I could not see into the distant future.
―I did not know that he was reincarnating while retaining his memories. Even the process of being killed and reborn countless times by my descendants was part of his plan. In the end, my wrong judgment ended up giving him time to accumulate enormous power.
Boom.
Then, with a great vibration from somewhere, the inner space where Bu Eunseol stood began to shake violently.
Boom. Boom.
The vibration did not stop after one instance but continued to shake the interior endlessly.
―Fortunately, by the time I realized this fact, I too had gained divine powers to oppose him…
‘This is bad.’
Bu Eunseol was bewildered.
As the vibration continued without end, the voice coming from inside grew as faint as the sound of an ant’s footsteps.
Boom. Boom.
The vibration grew increasingly stronger.
Eventually, the story from inside became completely inaudible, and faint red light points began to flicker repeatedly.
‘Someone has entered this place.’
Bu Eunseol could guess that the sound was someone breaking in by destroying the interior.
‘I must hear the rest of the story no matter what.’
His heart grew urgent.
The message flowing from this place was precious information that no other person or organization knew.
The problem was that, just like the pool in the vault of the Baekri Family, such a message containing mysterious power could not be heard repeatedly and was transmitted only once to those with the destined connection.
If it was interrupted by someone, he would no longer be able to hear the rest of the story.
Hummm.
Bu Eunseol simultaneously unleashed his internal energy and the Three Divine Energies, wrapping the inside of the structure so it would not shake.
―……The subordinates will appear one after another.
Then the story began to be transmitted faintly once more.
However, the vibration coming from afar also grew stronger and stronger.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
As the vibration intensified, the voice that had been intermittently flowing in was cut off again.
‘It is not because of the vibration that the story is not being transmitted.’
Bu Eunseol instinctively realized it.
The story had not stopped because the structure was shaking.
Rather, someone had destroyed something connected to this structure, which caused this to happen.
―Chosen one.
At that moment, a very thin and gentle voice rang out.
―I will give you… the power to find what you seek.
At the same time, millions of light points spread out before his eyes.
Whirr. Whirr.
Suddenly, strange patterns began to appear in his right eye.
The patterns were very similar to the ones engraved on the Silent Tiger Soul Sword when he poured power into it to unleash Harmony.
Sssss.
At the same time, white smoke rose from his Baihui acupoint, and a pain as if heaven and earth were splitting apart began to spread.
“Ugh.”
Bu Eunseol unknowingly let out a groan.
Even if his limbs were torn off, it would not hurt this much.
It felt as if flames starting from his Baihui acupoint were burning his skin and muscles and slowly spreading. Later, it went beyond burning the skin and muscles and seemed to separate and crush every single bone. His body swelled and then shrank, and his tendons and ligaments felt as if they were being peeled off.
But the most excruciating pain was not in the body but in the soul.
Pssht!
Something sharp pierced the barrier of his soul, and with explosive sounds, it endlessly tore at his soul and annihilated his sense of self.
Whirr.
At that moment, an endlessly gentle energy began to spread from his Nohu acupoint and started resisting the energy digging into his Baihui acupoint.
The power his grandfather had injected into him earlier was activating once again.
‘Huu.’
Just as the pain seemed to subside little by little,
Crack.
Instead, the two energies began to clash violently at both acupoints.
To put it simply, the Baihui acupoint is near the crown of the head, and the Nohu acupoint is near the back of the head.
When the two forces collided at acupoints less than a span apart, a pain as if his head was being split vertically spread out.
Tremble.
It was a level that would drive an ordinary person insane, but Bu Eunseol merely clenched his teeth tightly and trembled.
‘Something… is wrong.’
The energies wriggling from the Nohu acupoint were not of one kind but divided into gentle and intense ones.
Yet before long, even the energies pouring from the Baihui acupoint were steadily accumulating near the Nohu acupoint.
‘Instead of opening the Nohu acupoint, it’s sealing it together?’
When energy digs into a blocked acupoint, the existing blockage should normally be resolved. However, the energy injected from the Baihui acupoint had joined the Nohu acupoint and become part of the sealing force instead.
‘I’m going to die like this.’
He had no room to ponder the bizarre phenomenon occurring inside his body.
As energy joined the Nohu acupoint, an unbearable pain that a human body made of flesh and blood could not endure was spreading.
“Ughhh.”
Bu Eunseol tried to somehow assimilate the energies into his body, but they ignored him and began sealing the Nohu acupoint together.
―……Also, if you use this power in a critical situation, it will help you escape danger.
The intermittently heard voice had somehow changed into one that seemed to speak directly.
But Bu Eunseol had no attention to spare for listening.
“Ughhh.”
It felt as if his body would explode.
No, it would explode soon.
At most in five minutes or as short as three breaths later.
For the first time, Bu Eunseol sensed death.
Crack.
But at that moment, something strange happened.
Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the scabbard of the Silent Tiger Soul Sword,
and Whirr. Whirr.
Pure white light began to flow from it.
At the same time, the power that felt as if it would burst his body started flowing toward the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
Paaa.
A transparent current spread from the Silent Tiger Soul Sword, and with a whoosh, the currents began to be absorbed in an instant.
‘Huu, huu.’
Then the explosive energy calmed down, and the pain gradually subsided.
Boom! Rumble rumble.
Along with an explosion, a sound as if something massive was collapsing spread out.
Whirr.
The light filling the interior completely disappeared.
Clank. Rumble rumble.
The door of the structure Bu Eunseol had entered opened by itself.
In the end, due to the vibration, the source power that had been operating the internal mechanisms had completely vanished.
Thud.
As the door opened, Bu Eunseol unknowingly collapsed to his knees on the ground.
The pain caused by the power that had dug into his mind a moment ago was, he was certain, a hellish torture that no one under the heavens could endure.
The pain had disappeared, but the aftereffects of the agony still spreading throughout his body made it impossible for him to move.
“Do the heavens… stand on the side of the True Demon?”
More than the aftereffects of the death-like pain, what tormented Bu Eunseol even more was that he had not been able to hear the information about the True Demon that the founder of the Ancient Sword Forest was trying to convey.
“The sword.”
With his head lowered, Bu Eunseol witnessed an unbelievable sight.
The Silent Tiger Soul Sword, which had been in the form of an ordinary long sword, had shrunk into a somewhat thinner form along with its scabbard.
It had not shrunk dramatically, but to Bu Eunseol, who knew its size, shape, and weight perfectly, it looked as if a normal long sword had turned into a slender sword.
‘So it wasn’t an illusion?’
A moment ago, he had felt as if the Silent Tiger Soul Sword had absorbed part of the energy digging into his Baihui acupoint.
But because of the pain, he had thought it was a false sensation. To think the sword had really melted down?
“I don’t know what kind of power was given.”
The death-like pain had stopped, but that was all.
He felt no sensation that any power had entered his body or that anything had been added.
Clack.
The moment Bu Eunseol grabbed the hilt of the Silent Tiger Soul Sword,
Sssss.
White smoke rose from his palm as if he had touched a heated iron lump.
Strangely, however, there was no pain.
“What is this?”
Before he knew it, a strange pattern had been engraved on his right palm.
It was exactly the same as the one that had appeared before his eyes earlier, the one that appeared when Harmony was injected into the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
Sssss.
The engraved patterns slowly disappeared along with the white smoke.
Bu Eunseol touched the hilt once more, but no more smoke rose, and no pattern appeared on his palm.
‘Was all of this arranged by the Lord of the Ancient Sword Forest?’
Bu Eunseol had only come to the Hyungsan Sect at the request of Myeong Un but he had discovered the Ancient Sword Forest secretly established within the Hyungsan Sect.
He had dealt with members of the United Heart Society who were attacking it and he had merely received the bead from the young lord who led the Ancient Sword Forest there and been asked to save the Lord of the Ancient Sword Forest.
This process was a series of extremely coincidental events with no room for anyone’s intentional design or intervention.
Yet, looking at the result, it felt as if the founder of the Ancient Sword Forest had made meticulous arrangements to deliver information and power to him.
‘Then was she truly the True Demon’s twin?’
Putting all the stories together so far, she was born at the same time as the True Demon and could foresee the distant future.
Yet, because she could not be born with the memories of previous lives like the True Demon, she had made such arrangements.
For a moment, a subtle thought occurred to Bu Eunseol.
“Then is she repeatedly reincarnating while losing her memories like an ordinary human… and being born as a woman of the True Demon’s lineage?”
The founder of the Ancient Sword Forest and the True Demon’s twin.
His mother, the Holy Maiden Saya.
And Manwol who inherited her power…
All three looked strikingly similar, as if they were the same person.
Could it be that one person was endlessly repeating the cycle of life and death?
‘No, that doesn’t make sense.’
If Manwol had been born after his mother’s death, it might be different.
But the two clearly existed at the same time.
Moreover, although their faces were extremely similar, upon very close inspection, they were not completely identical.
“Then…”
A flash of insight crossed Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
He had finally realized the reason for all this.
“Bloodline.”
This was probably the answer.
Just as the True Demon, who had repeatedly reincarnated through the generations, left behind descendants and those bloodlines formed a large clan, the bloodline of the woman called the True Demon’s twin must also have been passed down through the generations.
The founder of the Ancient Sword Forest was perhaps the ancestor of his mother and Manwol.
Otherwise, there was no way their appearances would be so similar.
Rumble! Boom!
At that moment, another explosion erupted.
“Just who is invading?”
Only now remembering that an intruder had entered the canyon, Bu Eunseol ran toward the entrance of the canyon.
‘A woman?’
There stood a woman radiating white light all over her body, endlessly destroying the interior of the Ancient Sword Forest with tremendous power.
She was a beauty with a mysterious appearance, as if born from snowflakes, her hair to her toes dyed in pure white light.
She moved through the air like an immortal, shooting brilliant light from both hands, and with every strike, enormous power spread out, shattering the buildings inside the canyon.
‘Baekri?’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes flashed.
The power used by that woman in white.
Wasn’t it very similar to the power that Yuk Jangcheon had obtained from an elder of the Baekri Family in the past?
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