The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign – Chapter 818

“Eh?”

From far off in the distance,

Bu Eunseol saw the black-clothed masked man—covered in horrific wounds—rushing toward him. He let out a startled scream and widened his eyes.

“Hiiik!”

Pretending to be frightened, he quickly averted his gaze.

Whoosh.

But the masked man halted his qinggong and approached Bu Eunseol.

Then, upon spotting Bu Eunseol still chewing and munching on the tree bark in his mouth, he stopped walking.

Flash.

Standing rigidly, the black-clothed masked man stared straight at Bu Eunseol. A sharp glint exploded from his eyes.

He began scrutinizing the dazed eyes and filthy clothing with great care.

Step.

Before long, the masked man drew right up to Bu Eunseol and spoke in a low voice.

“Who are you?”

“This, this lowly one… is called Finger.”

“Finger?”

“Yes, sir.”

Orphans and beggars abandoned without proper names often go by nicknames instead of real ones.

The black-clothed masked man frowned at the foul breath emanating from Bu Eunseol, then nodded.

‘This might actually work out better.’

He could never trust a martial artist.

But this beggar at least wouldn’t be chased by pursuers.

“Extend your hand.”

At the masked man’s command, Bu Eunseol blinked.

The masked man swiftly seized his left hand and, with nails sharpened like claws, began carving something into the palm.

“Aaah!”

Bu Eunseol screamed.

Every time the masked man’s nail touched his palm, it felt like his skin was being scorched.

Ssssss.

After meticulously carving and inscribing something, the masked man sharply pressed a meridian point near Bu Eunseol’s wrist. Instantly, his fist clenched tight on its own.

“Listen carefully.”

The masked man spoke with a solemn expression.

“You are to follow this road straight to the Martial Alliance. Once there, show your palm to the guard.”

“Ughhh. My hand won’t open, sir.”

“It will naturally release in about three days. By then you should have reached the Martial Alliance.”

The masked man had calculated the time it would take Bu Eunseol to walk to the Martial Alliance on foot and pressed the meridian accordingly.

“Then the guard will take you somewhere. And when you meet the person there, you are to deliver this message.”

Staring straight into Bu Eunseol’s face, the masked man said,

“Tell them that the Heavenly Secret Star has appeared. That everything is being manipulated by him.”

‘Heavenly Secret Star.’

The Heavenly Secret Star—the one who kidnapped children from the Central Plains and committed such atrocities that even the desperately sought-after One Hundred and Eight Stars paled in comparison?

Now he was controlling everything?

“If it’s hard to remember, just saying ‘Heavenly Secret Star’ is enough.”

“Heavenly Secret Star.”

“Correct.”

True to his role as a member of the Martial Venerable’s secret organization, instead of handing Bu Eunseol a letter or token containing crucial information, he had simply engraved a covert pattern onto his palm.

“Sir, I cannot do it.”

When Bu Eunseol began trembling, the masked man spoke coldly.

“If you do not go within half a month, your hand will rot and you will die!”

“Wh-what?”

“What has been absorbed into your palm is the Auspicious Shark Blood Poison.”

“S-Sir!”

“But if you deliver the message, you will immediately receive the antidote—and a large sum of money as well.”

The masked man took out a single silver ingot from his robes.

“Take this. And if you deliver the message, you will receive ten gold ingots.”

“G-Gold, sir?”

“Yes.”

The masked man glanced around before speaking firmly.

“You must never tell this to anyone. Understood?”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

The masked man looked around once more and repeated,

“You must deliver it to the Martial Alliance without fail. If you do not, I will definitely find you and kill you.”

“Y-Yes, understood, sir.”

Just as Bu Eunseol bowed deeply,

Crack.

Suddenly, his left wrist twisted on its own, and his palm sprang open wide.

‘Oh no.’

Because he had not fully suppressed the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi, the meridian point had released itself without his control.

‘So it has this kind of ability.’

Bu Eunseol gave a wry smile.

The Wind-Cloud Divine Qi had the property of naturally returning if not perfectly restrained.

In a way, it was fortunate that it had been discovered now.

“Y-You…!”

Realizing he could no longer deceive the masked man, Bu Eunseol spoke in his normal voice.

“I’ve been found out.”

“So it was you—the Heavenly Secret Star.”

The masked man stared at Bu Eunseol—who had undone the meridian point himself—and trembled as realization dawned.

“It wasn’t the Bullet King earlier either. It was you. You were deliberately testing me.”

“…”

“You wanted to confirm that even someone like the Bullet King would be distrusted if he didn’t reveal everything—so no martial artist could be trusted.”

Having long led a secret organization himself, the masked man possessed outstanding intellect and intuition.

He realized that Bu Eunseol had completely grasped his psychological state, understood his wariness of martial artists, and had deliberately disguised himself as a beggar to trick him into handing over everything personally.

“Exactly right.”

Bu Eunseol nodded, now using his real voice.

“You are far more clever than you appear.”

“Perhaps on par with you—the one who claims to read the heavens.”

“I am not the Heavenly Secret Star.”

Bu Eunseol spoke with a bitter expression.

“So you may tell me everything you know without worry.”

“Don’t make me laugh.”

The masked man’s eyes flashed.

“In any case, you too will soon die by the Martial Venerable’s hand.”

Crack.

He immediately severed his own heart vein and committed suicide.

Bu Eunseol had known the man would take his own life and made no attempt to stop him.

No matter what he said, the man would never believe him, nor would he reveal any information.

In that case, the least he could do was let the man choose the moment of his own death.

Yet Bu Eunseol came to regret that decision.

—You too will soon die by the Martial Venerable’s hand.

Contrary to expectation, the masked man was not a subordinate of the Martial Venerable.

“No way.”

The martial arts used by the black-clothed masked man had unmistakably been the Martial Venerable’s secret techniques. So how could he not be one of the Martial Venerable’s men?

“The Fire Hall?”

What was engraved on the palm was none other than the symbol representing membership in the Martial Alliance’s Fire Hall.

“Then he should be a direct subordinate of the Martial Venerable, no?”

Through the Supreme Division, Bu Eunseol had already identified some of the secret organizations covertly operated by high-ranking members of the Martial Alliance. The Fire Hall was a newly formed organization within the last decade—ostensibly devoted to researching mechanical formations and mechanisms, but in reality, it was an intelligence network directly under the Martial Venerable.

Yet one of its members had uttered with clear resentment, “You too will soon die by the Martial Venerable’s hand”?

Did that mean he believed Bu Eunseol had been sent by the Martial Venerable to assassinate him?

“I don’t understand what this means.”

Suddenly, Bu Eunseol recalled something one of the blue-faced men had said.

—How could some meddler appear while carrying out His command…?

“Then the blue-faced ones were subordinates of the Heavenly Secret Star.”

Putting all the pieces together, it appeared that a secret unit led by the Martial Venerable had been dispatched into the martial world on a special mission, but the Heavenly Secret Star—who could read the heavens—had detected it and sent the blue-faced ones to attack them.

“Reading the heavens…”

Bu Eunseol let out a sigh.

The blue-faced ones must have been so certain no interference was possible because they were acting on the orders of the Heavenly Secret Star who reads the heavens.

“So such a thing really exists.”

Bu Eunseol had encountered countless strange and bizarre people and events, yet he had never met anyone who could truly read the heavens.

“But doesn’t reading the heavens mean seeing the future?”

If the Heavenly Secret Star could truly see the future, he would have foreseen Bu Eunseol coming here… so reading the heavens could not mean seeing the future.

“But this situation is utterly incomprehensible.”

For a member of the Martial Venerable’s presumed secret organization to leave behind words that seemed to show hostility toward the Martial Venerable?

‘A spy or a traitor.’

In that case, the only conclusion was that the black-clothed masked man was either a spy operating within the Martial Venerable’s ranks or a traitor who had been recruited by an external force.

“What exactly is the Martial Venerable plotting?”

After pondering for a moment, Bu Eunseol searched the black-clothed masked man’s body.

As expected, nothing of significance was found.

“The Martial Venerable would never allow subordinates to carry letters or tokens that could be discovered by others.”

After taking a deep breath, he shook his head.

“But relying solely on verbal transmission is equally bad.”

If information was transmitted only by word of mouth for security reasons, then in a situation like this—where the messenger is ambushed and killed—the precious information would be completely lost.

“Heavenly Mirror Heart Sutra.”

Up until now, whenever absolute security was required, the Martial Venerable had always used the Heavenly Mirror Heart Sutra.

Could it be that he had applied a similar method even for transmitting information?

“Let’s try.”

Wooong.

As he raised the Heavenly Mirror Heart Sutra, Bu Eunseol sensed something extremely foreign within the masked man’s body.

It was not an internal cultivation method—it felt as though something had been embedded near the groin area.

“Hm.”

After a moment’s thought, Bu Eunseol closely examined the masked man’s legs. Visually, nothing could be seen.

Ziiing.

Finally raising the Void Heart Command, he sensed an extremely faint, nearly transparent pattern engraved on the inner thigh—something invisible to the naked eye.

“How vicious.”

No one investigating an intelligence operative would ever closely examine the inner thigh.

The Martial Venerable had devised a truly unique method: engraving information directly onto the body so that even if it were lost, the information could still be recovered.

“A map.”

What was engraved there was none other than a map.

And it pointed to a certain mountain in Wuchang.

“A secret vault.”

Bu Eunseol immediately understood what the map signified.

The Fire Hall was a gathering place for masters of mechanical formations and mechanisms. Therefore…

“They must be in the process of relocating the Martial Venerable’s previously exposed secret vault.”

The Martial Venerable had constructed a mysterious mechanism in Mount Dabei and secretly stored various items there—including the belongings of the Heavenly Emperor.

At that time, Bu Eunseol had infiltrated the place while all his internal energy had vanished, so he had been unable to erase the traces of his entry. 

Eventually, the Martial Venerable must have discovered those traces. In that case, it would have been necessary to relocate the entire vault.

Perhaps the black-clothed masked men were those tasked with managing or moving the Martial Venerable’s secret vault.

‘There’s no time.’

The Martial Venerable was no fool.

When his dispatched unit failed to return on schedule, he would immediately sense something was wrong.

Before that happened, Bu Eunseol had to enter the vault first.

“Forgive me.”

Bu Eunseol raised the Yeolha Great True Energy.

He had to erase every trace left in this place in order to buy himself some time.

Whoosh! Hsssss.

Ultra-high heat erupted, and the corpses began glowing red like charcoal.

Bu Eunseol gathered not only the masked man but also the bodies of the blue-faced ones he had dealt with earlier and incinerated them all together.

Hsssss.

Using his immense internal energy, he created a virtual barrier to prevent the heat from spreading outward. Even the rocks turned red-hot. Finally, every corpse scattered across the clearing was reduced to ash and scattered on the wind.

Swish!

Having erased all traces, Bu Eunseol immediately launched himself into motion.

He had to hurry to Wuchang and confirm the location of the Martial Venerable’s secret vault.

***

The map engraved on the masked man’s thigh pointed to a deep ravine in Mount Baiyun, Wuchang.

This was a famous scenic mountain visited by countless tourists, making it utterly unsuitable for hiding anything or constructing a secret vault.

So why had the Martial Venerable chosen this place for a vault?

‘As expected, nothing here.’

He searched everywhere—from the bustling Lingfeng Gorge frequented by travelers to the most remote, desolate ravines—yet found no vault or hidden chamber suitable for concealment.

Even after deploying the Void Heart Command to search for traces, the result was the same.

‘In that case.’

The Martial Venerable was not only profoundly versed in martial arts but also highly skilled in sorcery and grand formations.

Hadn’t he previously constructed the vault in Mount Dabei in such a bizarre way that entry was nearly impossible without knowing the method?

Even if a vault existed here, without knowing how to enter it, any mechanism would be useless.

“Hm.”

Looking up at the distant sky, he realized the sun had already begun to set.

By now, the Martial Venerable had likely realized something was amiss with the dispatched intelligence unit.

‘If I use all Three Divine Energies…’

If what was installed here was some unique sorcery or grand formation, it might not be detectable by martial energy—but perhaps the Three Divine Energies could sense it?

‘Let’s try.’

Whooo.

First, he spread the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi.

Unlike the Thunder Spirit or Crystal Divine Energies, the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi could expand its range almost limitlessly when released without restraint.

His goal was first to determine what might be blocking him and where exactly the hidden vault was located.

‘If a grand formation or sorcery is in place, I should be able to detect at least a hint.’

Because the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi contained natural energy, any artificial interference would surely be felt.

Ziiing.

At that moment, he sensed a subtle feeling.

It was as though he had brushed against an invisible, transparent wall.

‘There.’

Moving swiftly, Bu Eunseol arrived at a deep forest.

Yet the power of the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi seemed blocked from entering the forest—it felt like an obstruction.

“If some technique has been deployed here…”

Next, he raised and spread the Crystal Divine Energy.

The Crystal Divine Energy, which carried the power to break evil, should at the very least be able to shatter any grand formation present.

‘No effect.’

Yet nothing dissolved or was pierced.

‘Perhaps because what is deployed here does not contain malevolent energy… the Crystal Divine Energy may not react.’

After a moment of thought, Bu Eunseol closed his eyes.

‘Then what if I simply assume something is here and push forward with the Crystal Divine Energy?’

Swish. Zzzzzzt!

In one hand, the Crystal Divine Energy gathered; in the other, the Thunder Spirit Energy.

The Crystal Divine Energy carried the power to shatter evil while the Thunder Spirit could tear and destroy.

Since something was present, he intended to combine the two forces to break it.

Sssssaa. Zzzzzzt.

Yet even after combining the two powers, he felt no sense of anything breaking or being touched.

“I see.”

Only then did Bu Eunseol realize something.

The Wind-Cloud Divine Qi had detected this place.

Therefore, to destroy it, the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi would also be required.

Whooo.

Bu Eunseol raised the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi.

In terms of martial principles, combining two or more powers was impossible.

Thus, like achieving “Harmony,” he intended to raise and align all Three Divine Energies simultaneously.

Giiiing.

As he raised the Three Divine Energies at once, a strange vibration occurred and a faint light flowed from his body.

At the same time, a pain like his mind was crumbling assaulted him.

If harmonizing caused the sensation of the body exploding, then raising all Three Divine Energies simultaneously brought a pain as though his very soul was collapsing.

‘Ughhh.’

It felt like his mind was melting; his vision grew increasingly transparent.

If he continued like this, he would become an idiot.

‘Stop-’

Helplessly, Bu Eunseol tried to withdraw the Three Divine Energies.

But they would not stop.

Unlike martial power, once the Three Divine Energies were raised simultaneously, they continued to spread without cease.

It was as though a dam had been opened and water surged forth unstoppably.

Ziiiiing.

As time passed, the sound of tearing leather echoed inside his head.

It felt as though the sack containing his mind was inflating to the point of bursting.

Just as his mind was about to turn completely transparent,

Ziiing.

Suddenly, from the cerebral acupoint, an endlessly warm energy flowed forth.

The rampaging Three Divine Energies—which had been arbitrarily expanding the space of his soul—slowly stabilized and began to merge into one.

Kwaaa!

At the same moment, three streams of mystical radiance burst from Bu Eunseol’s body and soared to the ends of the sky.

They enveloped the surrounding forty-odd zhang and began to whirl violently.

Kiii. Kiiii.

A sound like metal being scraped by something sharp rang out endlessly.

Kiiiiii. Crack.

Finally, the sound of something shattering echoed,

Thud.

The unified energy of the Three Divine Energies extended somewhere, and Bu Eunseol dropped to one knee.

The pain he had just endured was on an entirely different level from any bodily pain he had ever experienced.

If he had not reached the realm of Spirit Regulation Harmony, or if he lacked unparalleled patience and steadfastness of will, Bu Eunseol would have gone mad or become an idiot.

“I nearly met a truly terrible end.”

Still reeling from the lingering numbness in his mind, he shook his head.

“The alignment of divine energies is impossible without obtaining the complete Four Divine Energies.”

The Four Divine Energies were forces of nature.

Without obtaining the complete Four Divine Energies, perfect alignment beyond the level of the Three was impossible.

Forcing it could shatter the soul into pieces.

Ziiing.

At that moment, a transparent radiance spread before Bu Eunseol, and soon a small space was created.

The power of the Three Divine Energies had finally shattered the grand formation installed here and revealed the hidden space.

Shrrrr.

Stepping into the transparent space, Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened.

“This is…”

The scene before him bore an almost identical structure to the Martial Venerable’s secret vault he had seen in Mount Dabei.

“As expected, they relocated it here.”

Just as he had predicted, the black-clothed masked men had carried out the Martial Venerable’s secret order to covertly move the vault from Mount Dabei to this location. This was evidenced by the fact that the internal formations and mechanisms still showed signs of being incomplete.

“It’s slightly different, though.”

Entering the vault, he found a large office-like chamber filled with stacks of letters and secret messages.

“They kept these instead of burning them?”

A figure of the Martial Venerable’s caliber would know better than anyone how critical security was.

So why keep these letters intact instead of destroying them?

“No way.”

After staring at the piled secret messages and letters for a long while, Bu Eunseol let out a hollow laugh.

“So that’s it.”

Snorting, he looked down at the letters and shook his head.

“These aren’t the Martial Venerable’s—they’re intercepted communications from various Martial Alliance organizations.”

These letters were records of instructions issued by different factions within the Martial Alliance or messages secretly sent to covert groups.

Since they were not written in secret code, they were not originals but rather transcriptions of intercepted communications.

“Knowing the true nature of the Martial Alliance… even the Martial Venerable has been struggling.”

Even while acting as Alliance Leader, he had been secretly investigating and digging into the Martial Alliance’s covert organizations. That meant even he had not yet fully grasped the true reality of the Martial Alliance and was still investigating.

“But then why would one of the Martial Venerable’s subordinates try to deliver this location to the Fire Hall?”

If he truly were a subordinate of the Martial Venerable, he would already know the vault’s location—there would be no need to transmit it covertly.

“No—he wouldn’t know.”

The Martial Venerable was thorough.

No matter how long it took, he would handle such matters personally.

Even for a highly trusted subordinate, he would never issue an order to relocate the vault where his secrets were hidden.

—You too will soon die by the Martial Venerable’s hand.

Suddenly, the masked man’s final cry flashed through his mind.

Despite clearly being a subordinate of the Martial Venerable, he had spoken words that showed clear hostility toward him.

“Then, just as I thought, the black-clothed masked man was someone who betrayed the Martial Venerable…”

Staring into empty space, a brilliant light exploded from Bu Eunseol’s eyes.

Only now did he realize the true secret of this vault.

“…and risked his life to deliver this vault’s location to someone.”

As expected, the black-clothed masked man was a subordinate of the Martial Venerable who had either betrayed him or been recruited by a hostile force.

And the blue-faced ones were likely pursuers sent to seize whatever the black-clothed masked men possessed.

“Then that means… within the Martial Alliance, there exists a force that opposes the Martial Venerable and someone cooperating with them…”

Gazing at the vault, Bu Eunseol muttered lowly.

“Mu Gyeol.”

The true disciple of the Heavenly Emperor, who had even shattered his own cultivation to become the Martial Venerable’s disciple in order to uncover the truth behind his master’s death.

Only Mu Gyeol could possibly sway the Martial Venerable’s subordinates and lead a force hostile to him.