If that person really was Father’s sworn brother.
If they had been close enough to take care of Bu Eunseol when he was very young?
Seeing the grown-up Bu Eunseol now, they would surely have been deeply moved and emotional—they would never have shown such a calm, detached reaction.
‘Perhaps Jihyung as well…’
The fact that the formation changed as they entered the ravine wasn’t because the terrain itself had changed.
It could be that someone destroyed the original formation and then recreated it in that place.
‘He even knows my entire life history, my name… and even that Father’s sworn brother was a lama?’
If that person was a fake lama, then how could he possibly know all of these things?
‘I’m going to check.’
Paang!
Bu Eunseol spun around in an instant and headed straight back toward Musim Valley.
***
Flash!
Above the deep ravine of Red Mountain.
A huge beam of light was descending from the distant sky toward the ground.
The light was so vast and warm that it resembled the merciful Buddha’s Light that illuminates the entire world with compassion.
Shuuuk.
The light descended to the earth and soon coalesced into a single shadow.
An old monk with a rather large build and phoenix-like long eyes appeared.
Wasn’t his face and physique… exactly the same as Takma, the Lord of the Mu Sect, the one embedded in the rock whom Bu Eunseol had just met?
Even more strangely, the eyes of this newly appeared Takma weren’t wandering off into the distance.
“You’re late.”
Rumble rumble.
As the new Takma appeared, with a tremendous noise the fake Takma who had been embedded in the huge rock appeared once again.
The real Takma let out a deep sigh toward the one who had perfectly copied his appearance and was bound to the enormous boulder.
“Lord Sado.”
The real Takma spoke with an indescribably lonely expression.
“Have you now even learned how to fathom the secrets of heaven?”
“There’s no need to read the secrets of heaven.” The Takma embedded in the rock answered indifferently. “Because everything is already in this seat’s hands.”
Srrrr.
Not only the iron chains, but even the massive boulder melted away like mist.
The fake Takma’s form quickly transformed into that of an extremely ordinary old man.
His appearance was utterly commonplace, his gaze completely calm.
Yet in Takma’s eyes, he looked like an unknown demon that should never have appeared in this world.
That ordinary old man was none other than
the supreme master of the demonic path and the master of Majeon—Sado Muryeong, the Demon Emperor.
“It’s been a while, you bald donkey.”
The Demon Emperor shook his head while looking at Takma.
“You managed to escape my grasp and held on quite well… so you were training the Unified Qi Manifestation?”
His voice was extremely quiet.
But every time that sound spread, Takma felt as if an invisible hammer was striking his head.
“If you had trained just a hundred more days, you might have completed all Eight Heavens.” He had seen through the level of Takma’s internal energy with perfect clarity. “Why bother coming here to die?”
“You already know, so why ask again?”
Takma’s willow-branch-like eyebrows trembled as he stared into the Demon Emperor’s calm eyes.
“For this poor monk, completing the Unified Qin Manifestation is a small matter. Finding that child and completely healing him—that is what protects the peace of the world…”
“Unfortunately, such a thing will not happen.”
“Surely not… Have you already met that child, the Chivalrous Swordsman?”
“Who knows.”
The Demon Emperor narrowed his already thin eyes while looking at Takma.
“He managed to escape back then, but it won’t be so easy this time.”
“Lord Sado. Why are you so obsessively fixated on this poor monk?”
Takma spoke in a voice filled with genuine incomprehension.
“If it’s something you desire, surely you can obtain anything. Why are you so desperate to kill this poor monk?”
The Demon Emperor lightly waved his hand.
“That’s something you should go ask the King of Hell.”
Kuuung.
In that instant, all light disappeared from Takma’s pupils.
At the same time, incomparably gloomy and dark energy silently seeped into his serene mind.
Those energies were endlessly negative and agonizing.
— Life is meaningless and painful. Why bother being born just to suffer all these torments?
— Why must humans go through birth, aging, sickness, and death? It would have been better never to have been born.
— If one is born a Buddhist and can sever the chains of reincarnation, how wonderful that would be. Then wouldn’t it be better to end this life quickly and merge back into nature?
Drip, drip.
In the end, red blood flowed from Takma’s mouth.
The man who had completely mastered the Primordial Essential Secret—said to be the most perfect internal cultivation method in the history of martial arts, the man who stood at the pinnacle of the Mu Sect’s supreme divine learning, the man on the verge of completing the Unified Qi Manifestation… had suffered internal injury in a single moment.
“Hah, impressive. As expected of the Mu Sect.”
The Demon Emperor clicked his tongue.
“The reason that child’s internal energy is abnormally high must also be because you passed on the Primordial Hidden Qi.”
There are countless internal cultivation methods in the martial world but among them, the one that allows the fastest and most stable accumulation of internal energy is none other than the Mu Sect’s Primordial Secret Art.
The reason Bu Eunseol could build terrifying internal energy in such a short time was
the combination of three perfect elements:
the heavenly-grade master Bu Zhanyang’s internal energy as a vessel, the ancient supreme secret scripture Muscle-Changing Sutra, and Takma forcibly injecting the Primordial Secret Art into his body, allowing him to reach the absolute limit of human internal capacity.
“Indeed… you met that child, the Chivalrous Swordsman.” Takma muttered in a trembling voice. “That’s why… you were so obsessed with this poor monk.”
The Demon Emperor spoke with an expressionless face.
“Didn’t I tell you? Everything is already within this seat’s grasp.”
In that instant, a fierce light flashed in Takma’s eyes.
Then even if it meant death, he had to eliminate this terrifying existence first.
Kwaaaang!
A majestic Buddha-light bloomed from his entire body, instantly sweeping away the gloomy darkness that had covered his mind.
“Be careful.”
Oooong.
As Takma extended both palms to the sides, a gigantic hand descended from the sky.
“You’ve converted the martial art of the mind into physical combat.”
When the Demon Emperor lightly flicked his sleeve, the enormous descending palm struck back toward Takma.
Kuuung.
But as if he had anticipated it, golden palms roughly three jang wide in both length and width began to appear above Takma’s head.
Kuuung. Kuuung. Kuuung.
Those giant palms bloomed like flower buds around his body, just like the thousand-handed Guanyin statue, then began pouring down one after another toward the Demon Emperor.
This was an attack only possible for Takma, who had reached the twelfth level of the Primordial Secret Art and could wield limitless internal energy.
“You’ve circulated your power endlessly, even breaking through that boundary.”
The Demon Emperor, letting out an excited exclamation, also began slowly spinning his hands.
Then the hundreds of descending palms melted away like snow.
The Demon Emperor’s martial level was such that he could kill Takma without even moving a single finger. But when Takma switched to physical combat, he nodded as if his interest had been piqued.
“Sometimes it’s good to move the body a little.”
Kuuuuung.
Black energy surged from the Demon Emperor’s body, forming dozens of enormous blade shapes.
They looked like ancient relics that had been sleeping underground, now manifesting as the blades of giants.
It was the very same tangible true qi created by the Wishful True Binding that he had passed on to Bu Eunseol.
Kuuu. Kuuu. Kuuu.
As dozens of giant black blades surged like waves, it looked as if the black God of Destruction, who would bring annihilation to the world, was floating in the sky.
Takma bit his lip.
No matter how limitless human potential may be, how could a flesh-and-blood body possibly unfold such martial arts?
“Try breaking this one too.”
Kwaaa.
With a low vibration, the enormous blade tore toward Takma’s body.
Swish!
Takma swiftly dodged and poured out golden palms.
Kwaaaaa!
Every time hundreds of golden palms poured out endlessly, the giant black blades shattered.
Kuuung. Kuuung.
But the enormous black blades continued to endlessly manifest in the air.
As hundreds of golden palms and black blades clashed fiercely, the sky and earth seemed to collapse; parts of the peaks of Red Mountain began to crumble.
Slash!
In the end, unable to destroy all the blades, Takma’s body was gradually pushed back.
Ziiing. Ziiing.
Each time the giant blades grazed his body, a majestic golden light bloomed from him.
It was the Mu Sect’s Divine Solitary Cultivation, said to rival Shaolin’s Diamond Indestructible Body Divine Art.
Pa-at!
Wrapped in golden radiance, Takma began unleashing Buddha-light toward the Demon Emperor.
It was the Buddhist martial art that the Mu Sect had preserved for hundreds of years—each move carried the power to shatter mountains.
Boom! Boom!
Thanks to the Primordial Secret Art, Takma possessed internal energy that had reached the absolute limit of humanity.
As the tangible techniques relentlessly burrowed into his body,
“Good.”
The Demon Emperor, seemingly excited, moved lightly and unfolded his own techniques.
His movements were slow, like someone performing Taichi, yet dozens of afterimages poured out each second, completely blocking all of Takma’s moves.
Boom!
Finally, the palms of the Demon Emperor and Takma collided.
A shockwave of internal energy soared into the sky, and formless strong qi spread outward in concentric circles.
In terms of pure tangible martial combat, the fight between the Demon Emperor and Takma was evenly matched.
“Hmm.”
The Demon Emperor stepped back slightly and wore a faint smile.
“As expected, it was the right decision to leave the roots of the Mu Sect intact.”
He spoke calmly with a very pleased expression.
“In such a short time, you’ve independently created interesting new techniques and bloomed a new school of martial arts.”
Huuu.
At the Demon Emperor’s low mutter, Takma retreated a few steps.
Although his own martial arts had broken through the Heaven-Human Boundary and reached the Infinite Realm, the Demon Emperor’s level was simply unfathomable.
‘Could he have reached the Heaven’s Will Realm?’
Takma shook his head.
‘No, that can’t be.’
If the Demon Emperor had truly reached the Heaven’s Will Realm, no matter how hard Takma struggled, he wouldn’t have been able to convert mental attacks into physical combat.
He would have been killed instantly before he could even use Infinite Power.
“Amitabha.”
Takma put his palms together.
Immediately, a majestic Buddha-light began to rise from his body once more.
And that Buddha-light soon transformed into the blazing karmic fire that burned his own body.
“Have you given up on meeting that child?”
The Demon Emperor spoke indifferently.
“If you use Body-Burning Devotion, you will walk a path of eternal return.”
“If I cannot even deal with the demon right in front of me, how could I possibly save that child?”
The flames flowing from Takma’s body grew even denser.
It was a flame created by the Infinite Power that only masters who had reached the Limitless Realm could wield.
Even the Demon Emperor could not ignore it easily; he immediately waved his hand.
Huuung.
Yet even with his power, the flames of Body-burning Devotion did not extinguish.
“Amitabha!”
With a Buddhist chant, hundreds of fire dragons burst from the ground around the Demon Emperor’s body, soaring straight up to the ends of the sky.
And they began to burn his body in an instant.
Hwaruk. Hwarrrrr.
The fire dragons filled dozens of jang around them, ceaselessly spreading flames between heaven and earth.
Rumble rumble.
The sky darkened and the ground shook as if an earthquake had struck.
All the surrounding vegetation melted like candle wax, and soon even the earth itself became soft and molten.
Hwaaaak.
And from within that inferno, a gray shadow appeared.
It was the Demon Emperor.
Shuuuk.
When he extended his arm, all the flames spreading across dozens of jang were sucked into his hand.
“Body-burning Devotion? No… it was Three Flames Radiant Blaze.”
The Demon Emperor looked down at the soot on his palm.
“Well, only a monk this shameless could have escaped my grasp for so long.”
Takma had not used Body-burning Devotion, but instead the similar Three Flames Radiant Blaze to create an opening, and in that moment had poured all his strength into escaping.
“Hm.”
The Demon Emperor, looking into the distant sky, noticed the footprints where Takma had stood and spoke calmly.
“As expected.”
Takma’s right footprint was clear, but the left one was slightly blurred.
Masters who have reached the Limitless Realm possess superhuman balance and perfect control over their bodies.
For such a master to perform movement techniques while unable to keep his body perfectly level…
was clear proof of a fatal internal injury that could not be recovered from.
“Well… it has been a very long time.”
Long ago, the Demon Emperor had tracked down Takma and inflicted a mortal wound.
Yet when he appeared looking perfectly fine, he thought perhaps the injury had been completely healed… but in truth, Takma had still not recovered from that wound and was slowly withering away.
“I almost want to praise you.”
There had never been anyone he intended to kill who managed to survive.
Takma was the sole exception—not only had he reached the Limitless Realm, but unlike a typical Buddhist master, he possessed ruthless pragmatism and would use any means necessary without hesitation.
Most martial artists grow more prideful and arrogant as their martial arts and seniority increase.
But Takma, despite possessing world-shaking martial prowess, did not hesitate to use the kind of tricks a lowly thug might employ, and showed not the slightest reluctance when it came to fleeing.
Whoooosh.
At that moment, hearing the intense sonic boom coming from far away, the Demon Emperor shook his head.
“So fast.”
His eyes narrowed as he looked into the distant sky.
“If I read the secrets of heaven well and make sure our paths never cross, that should suffice.”
Muttering lowly, his eyes flashed as he scanned the surroundings.
All traces of martial energy that had existed here were completely erased, and the devastated land was neatly restored as if it were a newly paved road.
“But…”
The Demon Emperor muttered in a voice so soft it could not be heard,
Pa-at!
He transformed into millions of points of light and vanished.
As though he had never been there at all.
Kwa-rung!
Not long after, a figure wrapped in purple lightning landed from the sky to the ground.
It was Bu Eunseol.
“…This is…”
Looking around, he furrowed his brows.
How could such a deep ravine suddenly become flat ground? How was this even possible?
“I need to find some clues.”
Ziiing.
Bu Eunseol’s pupils turned pure white.
He raised the Void Heart Command to thoroughly search for any remaining traces in this place.
“Who in the world…”
His eyes trembled as he looked at the completely devastated surroundings.
“To create this level of phenomenon…”
Superimposed Infinite Power.
Two masters who had reached the Limitless Realm had clashed here, and in the end one had been defeated and fled.
‘With this level of martial prowess…’
Bu Eunseol had met all of the Three Demons and Three Venerables including the Martial Venerable, and had received guidance from Ak Muryeong several times.
Because of this, he could somewhat appreciate the level of the Limitless Realm.
And the traces left here… belonged to at least someone on the same level as Ak Muryeong… someone who could continuously unleash the transcendent power Bu Eunseol called “phenomenon”—Infinite Power.
‘It’s not the Three Demons.’
Ak Muryeong and Weiji Mu-a were in seclusion, and there was no reason for them to come to such a remote place outside the Central Plains. Also, Jeok Bung was currently in closed-door training after temporarily stepping down from his position as Elder Hall Lord…
Then could it have been Sword Venerable and Buddha Venerable among the Three Venerables?
‘Buddha Venerable? No, that can’t be.’
Among the remaining traces, there were lingering sticky energies unique to Buddhist martial arts.
But this was the Western Regions.
In fact, it was far more likely that the Buddhist martial arts were used by Great Monk Takma—no the fake Great Monk Takma.
“Who the hell…?”
Bu Eunseol scanned the surroundings with empty eyes.
One thing was certain: the Takma who had been here was the fake, and someone had definitely clashed with him.
“He knows my life story…”
Muttering while looking at the distant sky, Bu Eunseol’s lips moved.
“Someone who can perfectly predict where I’m going and set traps in advance…”
In the current martial world, there was only one person with the ability to orchestrate such a thing.
“The Demon Emperor.”
Bu Eunseol bit his lip.
No intelligence organization could perfectly track his movements, yet the fake Takma had predicted both his destination and range of actions, setting a trap in advance.
And the only person in this world capable of such a feat… was the Demon Emperor.
“There’s a possibility.”
The Primordial Hidden Qi was sleeping inside Bu Eunseol’s body.
No matter how hard he tried, he could not consciously control it.
But the fake Takma had said he sensed the Primordial Hidden Qi, meaning he already knew Bu Eunseol’s complete life history perfectly.
As far as Bu Eunseol knew, the only people who knew his full background were the Divine Sage… and the Demon Emperor.
Moreover, if he even knew that his original name was Baekri Geomha…
Then that person might be related to—or even directly involved in—his father’s death.
“He probably won’t give me any answers even if I go ask.”
The Demon Emperor always said that important truths should not come from another’s mouth, but must be found by oneself.
And those words made perfect sense.
Besides, even if the Demon Emperor were to speak the “truth” right now, Bu Eunseol wouldn’t be able to believe a single word.
“This time… I won’t ask with words.”
Nevertheless, Bu Eunseol was determined to go find the Demon Emperor immediately and confront him face to face.
