The Black-and-White Witch has been slain!
The Black-and-White Witch, who sporadically appeared in the martial world to feed on blood, had recently haunted Pyeongdo, draining many.
She was finally tracked down by Baek Unsaeng, head of the Martial Alliance’s Shandong branch.
The Alliance warriors surrounded her, but an unexpected outcome unfolded.
Over a hundred warriors were massacred by her.
Why? Her true identity was Sa Okcheong, the Illusion King, a master of the Great Mind-Control Technique, capable of ensnaring souls with his voice alone.
The martial world was shocked.
The Black-and-White Witch, whose prowess and identity were unknown, was the Illusion King?
“He was a yin-yang person, seeking the blood of those with True Yin or True Yang to choose a gender.”
It was revealed that the Black-and-White Witch was a yin-yang person, feeding on those with True Yin or True Yang to fix his gender.
His body, found in the forest, was nearly fully masculinized.
“If his masculinization progressed this far, he must have been feeding for over twenty years. Why wasn’t this known in the martial world?”
The Martial Alliance’s leaders, examining Sa Okcheong’s body, were baffled.
He had been feeding on those with True Yang for years.
Why, then, did he disguise himself as the Black-and-White Witch and appear sporadically?
“The Illusion King was supplied blood by some faction, but something went wrong, forcing him to feed directly.”
Another rumor spread: the Illusion King was under a secret faction, receiving a steady blood supply until something disrupted it, compelling him to feed himself.
But the martial world’s interest lay not in the dead Illusion King’s backstory.
“Who killed him?”
That was the critical question.
Few in the martial world could defeat him alone. Not only was he a master of mind-control, but his finger and hand techniques rivaled the Blood Shadow White Hand.
Yet, his corpse bore no martial arts traces.
This suggested someone had killed him solo and erased the evidence.
Despite investigations, no one could identify the killer.
Ultimately, why Sa Okcheong became the Black-and-White Witch and who killed him remained mysteries.
As time passed, public interest in his killer faded.
***
Great Sword Mountain.
A mountain in Guangyuan, at the border of Shaanxi and Gansu, its towering peaks piercing the heavens, resembling a realm detached from the mortal world.
Whoosh.
A man ascended its summit, piercing through clouds and mist. His appearance was ordinary, but his slit eyes radiated profound light.
It was Bu Eunseol, disguised as Seolso.
He carried a large wooden coffin on his shoulder, yet climbed as lightly as the wind.
At a dizzying height, a grand temple loomed, overshadowing the majestic mountains. Though called a temple, no monks resided there—only ethereal women practicing with hair intact, like immortals.
This was the Sword Pavilion, a mysterious sect that produced exceptional female swordmasters for generations.
“Hmm.” A low groan came from the coffin.
Bu Eunseol quickly set it down and opened it.
“Are you awake?” Inside, a white-robed beauty lay with her eyes closed, asleep.
It was A-Yeon, the Sword Pavilion’s heir.
Despite Bu Eunseol defeating the Illusion King and breaking the Soul-Seizing Spirit Words, she remained unconscious.
An inexplicable heat was scorching her body, threatening to melt her meridians.
Fortunately, Bu Eunseol’s mastery of the ancient Heavenly Glacial Secret allowed him to suppress the heat and maintain her condition.
But this was no cure. Someone who understood her energy circulation was needed for proper treatment.
Thus, he urgently brought her to the Sword Pavilion.
Carrying a grown woman thousands of li was impractical, so he had crafted a coffin to transport her comfortably.
“…”
She didn’t respond, still unconscious.
The groan was likely an involuntary sound.
“Just hold on,” he said.
A-Yeon lay with long eyelashes lowered, deeply asleep. Enveloped in white cold energy, she resembled a spirit born from ice.
Sighing deeply, Bu Eunseol spoke again. “We’re almost there.”
Clunk.
Closing the coffin, he used a tempest-like movement technique to rush toward the grand temple.
Thud.
At the gate, a sharp, intangible aura emanated from within.
‘Truly the Sword Pavilion,’ he thought.
Though a mysterious sect, the Sword Pavilion used sharp swords as weapons.
Its disciples mastered profound techniques rivaling Shaolin’s Muscle-Changing Sutra. The interior was filled with countless peerless swordmasters, their invisible aura spilling outside.
“Stop,” two women at the gate blocked Bu Eunseol. “This is a place for the Mysterious Sect’s disciples. Outsiders cannot enter.”
“Your sect’s disciple is gravely injured,” he said.
“Injured?” Instead of answering, he showed them the coffin.
A-Yeon’s face, frosted over, was visible.
“Young Pavilion Master!” the women exclaimed, then shouted at Bu Eunseol. “Is she dead?”
“Not dead, just unconscious.”
Swallowing their shock, one asked, “Why put her in a coffin?”
“It was urgent, so this was the only way.”
Looking at A-Yeon, he said, “Inform your Pavilion Master quickly to help her recover.”
He turned to leave.
Originally, he planned to enter the Sword Pavilion to gather information. But A-Yeon’s severe condition, with her still unconscious, made him abandon that plan.
“Wait,” one woman said urgently. “Please wait a moment.”
As she rushed inside, creak, the gate opened wide, and an elderly woman with snow-white hair emerged. Her face was wrinkled beyond age estimation, but her eyes were sharp as blades, her posture erect.
It was Master Nengyin, the Sword Pavilion’s highest elder.
“Why is it so noisy outside?” she asked.
A woman bowed. “This man brought the injured Young Pavilion Master.”
“What? A-Yeon?” Nengyin spotted A-Yeon in the coffin. “A-Yeon!”
Approaching quickly, she touched A-Yeon, feeling icy coldness. Lingering longer might freeze her fingers.
“What happened?” Nengyin asked.
“She was injured fighting the Black-and-White Witch and hasn’t woken,” Bu Eunseol replied.
“So you killed the Black-and-White Witch?” she asked.
‘It worked,’ Bu Eunseol thought.
He had frozen the Illusion King’s body with the Heavenly Glacial Secret.
The Martial Alliance’s leaders would examine it, and he had worried they might detect traces of the Seven Blood Tear Forms despite his ice technique.
Rushing to Great Sword Mountain, he hadn’t heard martial world rumors.
But from this conversation, it was clear the Alliance found no traces.
“There were others, but… yes,” Bu Eunseol said, clasping his hands. “I hope she recovers.”
“Wait,” Nengyin urgently stopped him. “Did the Black-and-White Witch use ice techniques?”
“No, I infused icy true energy,” he explained calmly. “After being struck by mind-control arts, her body was burning with an abnormal heat. I suppressed it with icy energy.”
“Her whole body?”
“Yes. Likely from misusing her energy. Checking her pulse will confirm.”
“You two, take A-Yeon to the Medicine Stone Hall quickly,” Nengyin ordered.
The women carefully carried the coffin inside.
“Young master,” Nengyin approached Bu Eunseol. “Can you explain in detail?”
She added politely, “To heal A-Yeon, we need to understand the situation fully.”
Bu Eunseol had traveled thousands of li with a coffin to save her. Explaining briefly was a small task compared to that, so he nodded willingly.
“I will.”
Guided by a woman, he entered a hall marked “Cloud Mist Pavilion.”
Inside, there was only a worn table and a brazier for boiling water. It seemed less a place for guests and more for the Sword Pavilion’s disciples to meditate.
Step, step.
Light footsteps sounded, and the door opened.
A figure approached, leading six disciples.
A cold, statuesque beauty, her appearance rivaled A-Yeon’s.
‘Her internal energy is unfathomably deep,’ Bu Eunseol thought, marveling not at her beauty but her energy level. She appeared in her thirties, but her true age was likely much older, as only her sideburns were strikingly white.
High internal energy could slow aging. Seeing her youthful appearance despite white hair, he assumed she had mastered profound techniques.
As he stared, a disciple quickly said, “This is Master Jade Serenity, the Pure Heart Hall Master.”
“Pure Heart Hall Master?” Bu Eunseol, unfamiliar with the Sword Pavilion’s structure, assumed she was akin to a sect leader and clasped his hands. “Mercenary Seolso greets Master Jade Serenity.”
“I am Ok Yuha,” she said.
‘Ok Yuha? The Sword Empress Ok Yuha?’ Bu Eunseol thought, puzzled.
The beauty before him was the previous Sword Empress.
Originally using the dharma name Jinghai, she adopted her secular name during martial world activities, sparking rumors of her returning to secular life. Afterward, she secluded herself in the Sword Pavilion, and people assumed she became its master.
Yet, she was the Pure Heart Hall Master, not the Pavilion Master?
‘And isn’t she over fifty?’ he thought.
Even with profound energy and rejuvenation, a near-sixty woman couldn’t look so young.
‘I don’t understand.’
Ok Yuha, observing him, let out a low hum. “Hmm.”
Despite her stunning appearance, her voice was slightly low and hoarse. Bu Eunseol realized why her appearance was unnaturally youthful.
‘It’s not rejuvenation from reaching the ultimate realm.’
Even taut skin couldn’t rejuvenate vocal cords.
‘Did she consume a Vermilion Beauty Fruit?’ he wondered.
Could she have eaten the rare elixir, said to preserve youth forever, alongside the Golden Spirit Immortal Fruit? If not, how could her appearance be young while her vocal cords aged?
Ok Yuha, deep in thought, spoke. “A disciple of the North Sea Ice Palace?”
“No,” Bu Eunseol replied.
“You infused A-Yeon with icy true energy. Where did you learn such ice techniques?”
“I have my sources,” he said vaguely.
Her eyebrows rose. “Then which sect are you from?”
“I can’t reveal that due to my master’s orders.”
“Given your mastery of unorthodox martial arts, you’re not from a righteous sect…” Ok Yuha said sternly. “No mercenary has mastered ice techniques to your level. Reveal your identity.”
Bu Eunseol was about to say it was inconvenient.
But her cold demeanor prompted a sharp response. “Why must I explain myself?”
“Hmm?”
“I have no ties to the Sword Pavilion or that lady. Yet, I traveled thousands of li to save her life,” he said, his voice icy. “I don’t expect lavish treatment, but to be questioned like a criminal in this dingy room? Is this the standard of the Sword Pavilion, the martial world’s sanctuary?”
“Lavish treatment?” Ok Yuha retorted angrily. “Her meridians are frozen by icy energy, making recovery impossible. Lavish treatment?”
Her unexpected words narrowed Bu Eunseol’s brow. “What do you mean?”
“A-Yeon is a woman but born with a Radiant Yang Body, brimming with extreme yang energy,” Ok Yuha shouted, furious. “Unconscious and unable to circulate energy, how could her body withstand icy energy?”
Bu Eunseol couldn’t hide his shock.
A-Yeon had a Radiant Yang Body with extreme yang energy?
“I didn’t know,” he said calmly. “Her body was burning with an unknown heat, melting her meridians. I only suppressed it with icy energy.”
“That’s just an excuse,” Ok Yuha snapped.
She was being unreasonable.
Bu Eunseol, an outsider, had no way of knowing A-Yeon’s energy circulation or innate constitution. Had he not infused icy energy, A-Yeon would’ve died before reaching here.
Yet, Ok Yuha blamed him.
Step, step.
Footsteps sounded, and an elderly woman with snow-white hair neatly tied up entered.
It was Master Nengyin, the Sword Pavilion’s highest elder.
“From what I heard, this young man infused energy out of goodwill,” she said calmly to Ok Yuha. “Is it right to blame him?”
Ok Yuha, displeased, said, “Men in the martial world always touch others’ bodies under the guise of goodwill.” Her gaze was fixed on Bu Eunseol. “Such reckless actions by men kill more than warriors wielding swords.”
Bu Eunseol, listening silently, nearly laughed at the absurdity.
The former Sword Empress, once renowned, was this unreasonable?
“I’ve done my part. I’m leaving,” he said, standing.
Ok Yuha said coldly, “You leave after putting our heir in this state?”
“It’s like saving someone from drowning only to be asked for their belongings,” Bu Eunseol retorted coldly. “Had I known, I should’ve left her to die on the ground.”
He turned without looking back.
Ok Yuha said icily, “An arrogant man who doesn’t know his place.”
“You have a strange way of speaking,” Bu Eunseol said, sighing softly. “Every sentence mentions men. Were you wronged by one?”
He was merely pointing out her unreasonable tone.
But his words triggered her.
“You dare run your mouth?” White energy flared in Ok Yuha’s eyes. “Think you can mock me and leave unscathed?”
“Mock?” Bu Eunseol tilted his head.
Her sudden reaction was bizarre, her tone like that of an immature twenty-year-old.
“When did I mock you?”
“Shut up!” Swish!
Ok Yuha extended her index and middle fingers toward him. Though just fingers, they radiated sharper energy than any sword.
‘The former Sword Empress is this impulsive?’
Every righteous grandmaster he’d met had distinct personalities but upright characters. Yet, the former Sword Empress of the martial world’s sanctuary was this frivolous?
Tzzt.
His thoughts were long, but his actions swift.
Bu Eunseol used Swift Beyond Shadow to evade her attack instantly.
But her fingers remained locked on his Chest Center Point. With a single gesture, his Chest Center, Spirit Void, and Ghost Gate points were exposed simultaneously.
‘Her martial arts are formidable, unlike her frivolity,’ he thought.
Her technique was so profound that no movement could evade her finger-sword.
“Kneel,” Ok Yuha said coldly. “Unless you want to become a honeycomb.”
Normally, unable to break her technique quickly, Bu Eunseol would’ve had to surrender. Resisting would mean fighting the Sword Pavilion’s leadership inside their sect, facing attacks from all disciples.
Boom!
Thunder roared from his left fist.
Fearless and immune to threats, he didn’t care if this was the Sword Pavilion or the Palace of Hell.
Whoosh!
Immense fist force swirled and surged.
Ignoring Ok Yuha’s threat, Bu Eunseol unleashed his power without hesitation.
