They clasped their hands together desperately, but it was not a prayer.
Their fingers were clenched so tightly that they turned white. Some gripped so hard that their nails dug into the backs of their hands.
Their unfocused eyes stared blankly into empty space like hollow glass beads, completely devoid of any spark of life.
What was even more bizarre was the constant sound leaking from their mouths.
“Ugh… ugh… ugh… ugh…”
The low, hoarse sound echoing from deep in their throats was not a simple groan. It sounded like someone choking on their own breath, or like a desperate struggle to force out words whose meaning could not be understood.
At times, it mixed with pained moans and low, beast-like growls, sending chills down the spine of anyone who heard it. Even the bold Bu Eunseol was left speechless for a while, eyes wide open at the grotesque sight.
“What in the world are they doing?”
Eventually, Bu Eunseol released his stealth and revealed himself. He quietly approached the people.
“Ugh… ugh… ugh… ugh…”
Even though a stranger had entered the manor, they showed no sign of surprise or suspicion. They simply remained kneeling in a prayer-like posture, continuing to make the strange groaning sounds.
‘Something is wrong here.’
Thud.
He immediately stomped his foot on the ground. The Mind’s Eye spread out in all directions.
Because the interior of Cheongun Hall was extremely large and its layout was complicated, he chose not to investigate every corner one by one. Instead, he searched for anyone who was still behaving normally.
‘There’s one.’
Fortunately, he found a man inside the manor’s warehouse who was not kneeling in prayer. The man was squatting against the wall.
Bu Eunseol quickly approached.
There, he saw a middle-aged man with a relatively normal face who was not praying.
‘He’s a martial artist.’
He was a Taoist from the Kunlun Sect named Mo Tae-ung, who had entered Cheongun Hall as a guest.
“Hey.”
“……”
However, Mo Tae-ung did not even glance at Bu Eunseol. He continued staring blankly into space.
“What exactly is happening here?”
After a long silence, Mo Tae-ung spoke with empty eyes.
“We are far too insignificant beings.”
He muttered in a low voice.
“Of course we must offer joyful prayers upon receiving such a great existence, don’t you think?”
“A great existence?”
Just as Bu Eunseol tilted his head in confusion,
Thump.
Mo Tae-ung suddenly dropped to his knees.
“Ugh… ugh… ugh…”
In the end, he too began to groan and pray like the others.
“Hey.”
No matter how many times Bu Eunseol called out, there was no answer.
He even tried injecting inner energy and mimicking the power of the Illusion Upon Illusion to apply soul-stealing arts, but no method worked. Mo Tae-ung did not regain his senses and only continued muttering strange words endlessly.
‘What kind of situation is this?’
Bu Eunseol scanned the interior of the manor once more, but there was no longer anyone with a sound mind left.
Whoosh—
By now, a light drizzle had begun to fall.
After leaving the manor, Bu Eunseol was investigating the surroundings when he discovered a beggar taking shelter from the rain at a small shrine quite far from Cheongun Hall.
“Hey.”
Never in his life had finding a beggar felt so welcome.
Bu Eunseol took out a large silver ingot from his pouch and spoke in the friendliest voice possible.
“Let me ask you something.”
Even when he held out the large silver ingot, the beggar did not even glance at it, as if he were looking at a passing leaf.
“Do you know what happened to Cheongun Hall?”
“Cheongun Hall…”
The moment he heard the name, the beggar’s body trembled violently and a look of terror appeared on his face.
“This lowly one knows nothing.”
“I’m just asking.”
Bu Eunseol maintained a gentle expression and placed the silver ingot into the beggar’s hand.
He then injected the Ban-Geuk Method to help the man regain his clear mind.
‘It’s working.’
Unlike the people in the manor, the beggar was accepting the pure Ban-Geuk Method well.
“A plague had broken out in Cheongun Hall. The manor lord and all his household members were dying. But fortunately, the Holy One visited this place.”
“The Holy One?”
“Yes. The people of Cheongun Hall said… that he was an incomparably sacred being, the representative of the gods.”
Thanks to vigorously accepting the Ban-Geuk Method, the beggar’s eyes gradually grew clearer.
“The Holy One personally entered the manor, bowed his body, and wiped the bodies of the sick with his own hands. He treated them with utmost care, and finally, everyone was completely cured.”
“Then why are they like that now?”
“I don’t know the reason either.”
The beggar clutched his head with a fearful expression.
“After he left, everyone in the manor went mad and started behaving like that. They said that since they had received such a great existence, it was only natural to offer these prayers.”
His body trembled again.
The middle-aged beggar, who had been surviving on the food thrown to him by the servants of Cheongun Hall, must have found it both bizarre and terrifying that every single member of the once-normal household had suddenly gone insane.
“Thank you.”
Bu Eunseol continuously poured his powerful Ban-Geuk Method into the beggar to calm his mind.
The beggar, who had been trembling in fear, soon fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
After withdrawing his energy, Bu Eunseol looked up at the distant sky.
“So that Holy One is the True Demon?”
If so, did that mean the True Demon took the form of a saint and drove people insane?
“No, that can’t be right.”
The goal of an evil that had existed since the beginning of time—was it really just to make people go mad and run wild?
Compared to his divine majesty and power, it was an incredibly trivial and shabby objective.
Moreover, this kind of act was no different from the evil deeds once committed by Yeon Wol, an Inbiin.
“Plagues have been rare recently.”
Plagues had not spread much lately.
The recurring famines and wars had stopped, and the forces of the Empress Dowager who had allied with the Three Realms had weakened. Corrupt officials no longer ran as rampant as before.
Because of that, the government offices were functioning properly.
‘In that case, it’s possible that the so-called Holy One did not cure the plague, but instead spread it.’
Upon returning to Majeon, he mobilized the Death Spirit Corps and began searching for villages where a plague had recently broken out, or where people had fallen ill but miraculously recovered.
―A similar incident occurred in Sang’an Village four months ago.
According to the Death Spirit Corps’s investigation, an event similar to what happened at Cheongun Hall had also taken place in Sang’an Village in Yangcheon.
A small village where herbalists lived had been struck by a plague four months earlier. Strangely, everyone had suddenly recovered completely from the illness.
However, it was only temporary. The elderly, whose bodies had already been weakened during the recovery process, could not endure and eventually died. Only the young had barely survived.
―Our agents thoroughly investigated Sang’an Village but could not find any particular clues.
‘There is something here.’
After receiving the report, Bu Eunseol left Majeon and immediately set out to investigate Sang’an Village.
This time, however, he did not go as Seolso. He traveled there in his original identity as the Martial Soul Command Lord.
Considering the name the True Demon, something beyond his ability to handle might occur. He judged that appearing as the Martial Soul Command Lord would be safer.
Of course, doing so carried the risk of revealing that Seolso and Bu Eunseol were the same person, since Inbiin had given the clue to Seolso.
‘But they won’t be able to find any connection to Seolso.’
Nevertheless, he chose not to go as Seolso. He began the investigation openly in his true identity.
He had arranged the story so that it appeared he had coincidentally obtained information about Sang’an Village while moving the Death Spirit Corps’s intelligence network and had set out to investigate because he sensed something strange.
The elite members of the Death Spirit Corps had prepared meticulously. No matter how much Inbiin suspected and tried to trace the movements, he would find nothing unusual.
All clues had been thoroughly concealed, and even the fabricated footsteps and routes were perfectly hidden.
‘This way, I can also gauge the scale and level of the Inbiin Lord’s intelligence network.’
If the Inbiin instantly saw through the fabricated movements and traces created by the Death Spirit Corps, it would mean that the intelligence organization he operated far surpassed the capabilities of the Death Spirit Corps.
In that case, he would have to completely revise his evaluation of the intelligence networks run by Inbiin and the True Demon’s subordinates.
In the end, this course of action was underpinned by meticulous calculation aimed at obtaining additional information on Inbiin.
Whirring.
Raising his Void Heart Command, he thoroughly scanned the interior of the village.
Since this was originally a village of herbalists with relatively few residents, and most of those who had died were elderly, the atmosphere was only slightly subdued despite the mourning. It looked no different from an ordinary village.
Bu Eunseol walked around the village diligently, observing and checking many things, but he could not find any clear clues.
‘Although I can’t find any solid leads…’
A faint smile appeared on Bu Eunseol’s lips.
‘…I’ve caught the tail.’
Ever since he had entered Sang’an Village, he had been continuously sensing an extremely unpleasant, blatant gaze—faint yet persistent.
Bu Eunseol was certain that the gaze belonged to a highly skilled expert observing him while hidden.
‘It’s so faint and subtle that it feels almost like intuition.’
During all his years wandering the martial world, he could count on one hand the number of times he had detected such a faint presence.
If that was the case, these people must be masters of stealth who had trained in concealment arts far superior to anyone he had encountered before.
‘Roughly ten of them.’
While examining the ruined village, Bu Eunseol took a deep breath.
Their presence was hidden so well that it was difficult to even determine their exact number.
If they could display this level of stealth technique, their martial arts and movement skills must also be exceptional.
He had to capture every single one of them without letting any escape.
Whoosh.
As he circulated his inner energy, the pebbles beneath his feet suddenly rose into the air.
Bang!
They shot up toward the distant sky like exploding fireworks, then scattered in all directions.
Whirring.
The sky around the village turned transparent, and a mysterious energy spread outward in every direction.
Using an application of the Life-and-Death Battle Array, he had instantly deployed a formation that could enclose the entire area around the village in a single breath.
Rumble.
At the same time, lightning seemed to strike from the clear sky. A black shadow appeared on the roof of the village warehouse.
Bu Eunseol had moved there at ultra-high speed in an instant.
“The weather is warm, so are you all huddling together on the roof?”
He spoke toward the transparent shadows hiding on the warehouse roof.
“Wearing the White Concealment Robe, which costs as much as an entire palace per set, you don’t seem like ordinary assassins.”
The White Concealment Robe.
It was a mystical treasure made by mixing Heavenly Silkworm Thread with light-refracting silverlight stone, clear bright crystal, and powder from the darkless rock. It perfectly reflected the surrounding environment, completely hiding the wearer’s body.
However, the cost of making a single set was equivalent to the price of an entire palace.
Only the masters of the Extreme Slaughter Sect within the Ten Demonic Sects, a few high-ranking members, and the leaders of the Extinction Palace—such as the Palace Lord himself—could afford to wear it. In other words, only the highest-ranking assassins and leaders of the greatest assassin factions in the martial world.
Yet here, all ten of the hidden figures were wearing the White Concealment Robe.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Instead of answering, they simultaneously scattered countless silver hidden weapons toward Bu Eunseol’s face.
There were easily over a thousand of them.
It was a number that even the greatest hidden weapon expert could not unleash all at once.
“Sahyang?”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes instantly turned as cold as ice.
The weapons they were using had been crafted in a manner extremely similar to the hidden weapons used by the culprit who had killed his grandfather.
They were genuine Sahyang hidden weapon mechanisms.
‘Yet I annihilated them all with my own hands…’
Sahyang had already been exterminated by him, yet the hidden weapons they had produced were still circulating in the martial world.
‘Those demonic creatures must all be destroyed.’
Sahyang’s hidden weapons possessed such vicious and destructive power that they were classified as forbidden hidden weapons that must never be used in the martial world. Therefore, they had to be destroyed without fail.
Clatter.
The fired hidden weapons fell powerlessly to the ground before they could even touch Bu Eunseol’s body.
He had used his protective strong qi to deflect them all.
Boom! Crack!
Explosive and destructive sounds rang out simultaneously as the hidden weapon mechanisms they were holding fell to the ground.
Although he could not see their forms, he had identified the positions of the mechanisms from the trajectories of the fired weapons and destroyed them instantly with finger winds.
Swish! Swish!
The transparent shadows wearing the White Concealment Robe scattered in all directions like they were fleeing.
Realizing that Bu Eunseol was an opponent they could not handle, they chose to escape without hesitation.
Thud.
However, the fleeing shadows collided with the transparent barrier that had been deployed dozens of zhang around the village and fell back to the ground.
They had been blocked by the formation Bu Eunseol had set up in advance.
Crackle.
Blocked by the formation, they pulled out mysteriously glowing sticks from their robes and quickly began trying to break the formation.
It was the Heavenly Ascension Secret Rod, a treasure of the East Sea Zen Gate said to be capable of instantly destroying any formation’s power.
“You’re carrying around every treasure that can be carried.”
As Bu Eunseol drew his Silent Tiger Soul Sword,
Flash!
A brilliant light erupted, and sharp sword qi poured down toward the transparent shadows.
Swish!
They maintained their transparent forms and quickly scattered in all directions, but the pouring sword qi began to cling to them like ghosts.
He had unleashed the fourth form of the Supreme Heavenly Flow Style—Caged Bird Yearning for Clouds—whose mystery allowed the fired sword qi to move freely.
Shing! Shing!
The bone-chilling sword qi spread out endlessly in mysterious patterns,
Slice.
In an instant, it severed the necks of three fleeing martial artists.
Red lines of blood were drawn across their transparent forms, and blood sprayed into the air.
The blood scattered by the storm of sword qi fluttered in all directions like red maple leaves.
“Attack!”
Realizing escape was impossible, the shadows immediately poured their attacks toward Bu Eunseol.
‘Extreme Slaughter Sect?’
The sword arts being used by the robed martial artists—it was none other than the Five-Path Killing Sword, one of the assassin sword techniques of the Extreme Slaughter Sect.
“So they were assassins from the Extreme Slaughter Sect?”
Clang!
Bu Eunseol deflected all the sword qi with his Silent Tiger Soul Sword and frowned.
If they were assassins from the Extreme Slaughter Sect, there was no reason for them to fight him.
“Stop.”
Swish.
Bu Eunseol removed his face covering and spoke in a low voice.
“Cease your hands.”
Startled.
The transparent figures who had been attacking froze the moment they saw Bu Eunseol’s face. Their bodies flinched greatly and their movements stopped.
There was no demonic practitioner who did not recognize the face of the successor of Majeon, the Martial Soul Command Lord.
“What are the assassins of the Extreme Slaughter Sect doing here?”
“……”
“Remove the White Concealment Robe and reveal your affiliation and rank.”
At Bu Eunseol’s solemn command, the transparent shadows seemed to exchange glances,
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Instead of the Five-Path Killing Sword, they unleashed a bizarre sword art and charged at him with the intent to fight to the death.
It was a strange sword art that belonged to neither the righteous nor demonic paths. It was a self-destructive technique meant to ensure they dragged their enemy down with them even if they died.
“So you insist on drinking the punishment wine.”
Frowning, Bu Eunseol easily blocked their sword techniques with his Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
He could kill them instantly if he wanted.
But since they might be connected to the Holy One, he had to capture them alive and uncover their identities and purpose.
Swish! Swish! Boom!
However, the sword arts of the shadows, who continued pouring attacks while maintaining their transparent forms, grew even more bizarre.
Their attacks became almost invisible, as if even the sword techniques were wearing the White Concealment Robe. Every time their weapons clashed, it felt like invisible needles were piercing into his meridians.
‘They are not assassins from the Extreme Slaughter Sect.’
The characteristic of assassin martial arts was extremely concise movements, using only techniques meant to cut off the enemy’s breath.
But the sword art being used now was closer to the righteous path.
Techniques that attacked only the meridians were extremely difficult to learn, required long training periods, and offered relatively low power. The Extreme Slaughter Sect, the leading school of assassins, would never teach such techniques.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
In the meantime, their sword art changed once again.
They suddenly surrounded Bu Eunseol in a circle and began creating a dense sword curtain.
It was not meant to kill the enemy immediately, but rather to restrict movement by blocking all directions.
‘They are preparing to explode and die together.’
Bu Eunseol, who had seen through their intentions at a glance, extended both hands.
If they created a sword curtain like this and surrounded him before using a technique like the Strong Dragon Striking Sky Blast, he would have no choice but to take it helplessly.
Slash!
At that moment, dozens of black true energy blades spread out and began piercing through the transparent figures’ bodies.
He had used Wishful True Binding to break through the sword curtain and shatter their formation.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Wishful True Binding changed shape again in mid-air and spread out like thorns.
Drip. Drip.
As countless holes were pierced through their bodies and blood flowed, the White Concealment Robes were dyed red as well.
Their transparent forms gradually turned red, revealing their shapes.
“If you are not affiliated with the Ten Demonic Sects, then I have no need to spare any of you.”
Slash! Swish!
Changing the form of Wishful True Binding once more, he additionally severed the necks of six more shadows.
Swoosh. Clatter.
Blood sprayed in all directions, drenching the lone remaining shadow entirely.
A man slowly revealed his form as a red blood figure.
“Judging by your posture, you seem closer to an intelligence operative than an assassin.”
Bu Eunseol sighed, knowing the man was ready to take his own life at any moment.
“Even if I ask, you won’t reveal your identity or purpose, will you?”
“……”
The man tried to end his life without hesitation. However, Bu Eunseol’s Yeouijin Method was faster.
Thud. Thud.
In an instant, Bu Eunseol sealed eighteen major acupoints. A faint current began to flow from his body.
Since he could not force the man’s mouth open, he decided to use the Heavenly Mirror Heart Sutra to analyze the origin of his martial arts and infer his identity.
“He has been trained to endure even the torture of having his limbs torn apart, and he has been implanted with restrictions that allow him to keep secrets even under soul-stealing techniques.”
“……”
“His heart method is also complex. It is definitely from the demonic path, but it has been newly created so that the origin of his martial arts cannot be traced at all.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed endlessly.
“Only a handful of great masters in the martial world are capable of creating such a heart method.”
As Bu Eunseol instantly analyzed the man’s martial arts origin and continued speaking fluently, the complexion of the man in the concealment robe changed.
Realizing there was no other way,
Thud! Thud!
He used the Origin True Method to forcibly break the acupoint seals, then instantly drew his sword and unleashed a swift sword strike toward Bu Eunseol.
Clang.
However, every move was predicted. Bu Eunseol’s index and middle fingers caught the sword.
“Ugh…”
The man exerted all his strength to retrieve the sword.
Even though he had exploded his Origin True Method, he could not pull the sword free from Bu Eunseol’s fingers.
Rip.
Meanwhile, Bu Eunseol used his inner energy to tear off the concealment robe mask covering the man’s face.
What was revealed was the face of a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties.
His face bore traces of harsh training and all kinds of hardships.
“Heh heh heh heh…”
As soon as his face was exposed, the middle-aged man burst into a cruel, vicious laugh instead.
“Martial Soul Command Lord. You made me reveal my face and killed my subordinates… In the end, you too will be punished and die.”
‘Punished… So that’s how it is.’
Bu Eunseol looked at the middle-aged man with an extremely grave expression.
“Demon Emperor.”
These people wearing the White Concealment Robe were none other than members of the secret organization secretly operated by the Demon Emperor.
Thank you for the chapters ! 🤠