The Hidden Hermit
I gave Hong Beom and Jeon Myeong-hoon a quick wink with a cold expression.
They understood my signal instantly. Both nodded and moved with lightning speed to block Seo Hyul’s escape route.
Watching us form a three-sided trap, Seo Hyul smiled.
“Loosen up, guys. Actually, I’ve already investigated you two thoroughly.”
His gaze shifted to Jeon Myeong-hoon.
“The one who inherited the original method of the Geumsinja and reached Cheonin in seventy-odd years. The Heavenly Person.”
He turned his eyes toward Hong Beom.
“And even faster. The one who entered the Nascent Soul realm in a period far shorter than that. Though he hasn’t reached Cheonin yet, his talent is famous everywhere.”
His gaze finally landed on me.
“And lastly, the one who reached Qi Condensation at the sixth layer in just a day after learning a method, and then the Nascent Soul realm at a speed that defies reason… who contributed to the extinction of Geumsincheonroemun and dragged the remaining disciples down to the Water Realm. The Heavenly Person.”
He chuckled softly.
“All three of you… are no ordinary people, are we?”
“….”
I kept my mouth shut with a cold expression.
‘He can’t read me.’
At this point, the fellow had already created a method to resist the gaze of the Demon Clan.
‘It’s barely visible, but…’
Beyond that, it was nearly impossible to see clearly.
After entering the Tribulation Realm, it had become hazy. Perhaps Kim Young-hoon could pierce through Seo Hyul’s method with his eyes.
“…So, what do you want to say?”
Seo Hyul answered my question with a bright smile and opened both arms wide.
“Though you two may think it’s nothing, I would like to know if I can join the plans of the three of you.”
“Hmm?”
“The true bodies of the Heavenly Persons Hong and Jeon…”
He guessed. “I can roughly guess. After them… there should be no one else. Of course… for the Heavenly Person Seo, I don’t recognize any of the people I know.”
“That’s amusing.” He said with a grin.
“If I don’t recognize any of the people I know, then it must be one of [two places]. Either he belongs to the Underworld, or he belongs to the other side. But based on the reaction the Baekgol Gwima of Heuksaek Gwigol Valley showed last time, it’s highly probable that he is a noble of the Underworld.”
Seo Hyul continued with a warm smile.
“The Underworld people… and the true bodies of the Heavenly Persons Jeon and Hong… I can guess the goals of the three of you. When people like you come to this Heavenly Road, there is only one goal to consider.”
“….”
‘What is this fool spouting?’
For now, hearing nonsense was harmless, so I decided to listen.
“You’re planning to head to Noe-seong-hae and recover the relics of the Geumsinja, correct?”
He asked with a gentle yet certain face, convinced his guess was right, while looking at the three of us.
I realized his eyes had lost their suspicion after seeing our expressions, so to prevent him from noticing Hong Beom and Jeon Myeong-hoon’s faces, I deliberately drew his attention to me.
“…It’s not wrong, but I don’t feel the need to tell you.”
While speaking, I also sent him a heart message.
Since there was no prior warning, Seo Hyul didn’t catch it.
The two who received my will quickly sealed their senses.
I then kicked Yeon-jin, who had been lingering nearby, back into the inner courtyard and spoke to Seo Hyul.
“You said you want to cooperate with us? Then tell me who you are and what you’re doing here. Explain your purpose.”
Since the guy was already mistaken, I decided to rip out his root.
But Seo Hyul’s reply was short.
“I am Hyeol-eum. That answers your question, doesn’t it?”
“….”
‘What does that even mean?’
Moreover, I felt impurity in Seo Hyul’s intent.
Thanks to the Demon Clan’s gaze, I couldn’t read the guy’s thoughts and inner self clearly, but the impure intent he held toward me was painfully obvious.
‘He’s lying.’
I didn’t know what Hyeol-eum was, but anyway, the guy wasn’t even Hyeol-eum.
‘Hyeol-eum, huh…’
I recalled Yang Su-jin’s words and decided to test whether the existence called ‘Hyeol-eum’ was real.
“If you’re Hyeol-eum, you should have already found the cause and effect, right?”
“….”
For the first time, Seo Hyul’s mouth closed with a calm expression.
Though his face didn’t change, I sensed that the faintly visible inner self and thoughts of the guy were violently shaking.
Even though I could only read it vaguely, the inner self was clearly agitated.
“…Because Gwang-han is too great, how could I easily find him?”
He didn’t deny or pretend not to hear my words. Instead, he simply said he hadn’t found it.
I smirked.
‘I have the advantage.’
The information gap had given me the upper hand in our first verbal spar.
‘Anyway, the guy isn’t Hyeol-eum. He’s just pretending.’
“I honestly can’t believe you. You don’t even know the location of the cause and effect, yet you claim to be Hyeol-eum?”
“…Hehe, well… it doesn’t matter what you think. What is certain is that I have a deep connection to Hyeol-eum. In any case, I can provide what the three of you desire.”
“Do you know what we want?”
“Anything you want.”
I thought for a moment, then smirked.
“I… not only the relics of the Geumsinja that Yang Su-jin mentioned, but also the traces left by the owner of Songsan Mountain.”
“The owner of Songsan Mountain?”
Seo Hyul looked momentarily surprised, then understood and laughed.
“Ah, I see. That’s why Heon-won was chasing you madly… You’re not trying to aim for the Taesan Yeolje Art, are you?”
“Something like that.”
‘He knows about the Taesan Yeolje Art and the owner of Songsan Mountain…’
He really was no ordinary guy.
“What will you do with the traces of the Imperial Immortal? Is it the will of the Heavenly Venerable to find that ancient god?”
“…!”
I was shocked by Seo Hyul’s sudden mention of the Imperial Immortal.
Yet strangely, it didn’t hurt like the moment my body melted.
It felt as if I had developed an immunity.
I barely endured the shock hidden in the word “Imperial Immortal” without showing it and smiled back.
‘This kid… he was testing me.’
It was probably the same for Hong Beom and Jeon Myeong-hoon.
Fortunately, since they had sealed their senses at my request, they weren’t affected.
Perhaps Jeon Myeong-hoon had also developed immunity after seeing the Imperial Immortal, but Hong Beom was unknown, so I should be cautious.
“The oldest one desires the traces of the god of the mountain.”
I casually metaphorically referred to the owner of the Underworld while speaking to Seo Hyul.
Seo Hyul nodded.
“I understand. The situation is as you say.”
He seemed to accept that I had endured the shock of the word “Imperial Immortal” and pulled out other knowledge.
“If you’re aiming for the Taesan Yeolje Art, I’ll help.”
“How?”
“Heon-won has many children, right?”
He smiled faintly and spoke casually, as if it were nothing.
“Just kidnap a couple and brainwash them.”
“….”
His tone made it sound like he had just gone on a picnic. I felt somewhat incredulous.
“By the way…”
“Hm?”
I frowned at Seo Hyul, who was slowly approaching me.
He came very close and tried to say something.
“With this level of sincerity, shouldn’t I be allowed to join you two for a little?”
“I never said I was kidnapping you.”
“Oh, if kidnapping and brainwashing are bothersome, I’ll just become friends with Heon-won’s children and find out on my own.”
His reaction clearly showed he intended to twist my heart like when dealing with Gyu-ryeon and make me spit it out.
“That’s… okay?”
He reached out to my shoulder with a gentle hand and asked.
And.
Crack!
I grabbed his arm.
“Shoulder.”
“…?”
“Don’t touch my shoulder.”
I gritted my teeth and glared at him.
“I’ll kill you.”
“….”
Seo Hyul chuckled awkwardly and pulled back his hand.
“Sorry. I guess I rubbed you the wrong way.”
“You’re observant. Well… think a little about whether you’ll help us. We’ll decide later. Contact me when you need to. Disappear now.”
I had been holding up so far, but the fear that he would find a loophole if we kept talking made me decide to get rid of him right in front of my eyes.
“Understood. I’ll see you later. Also, I’ll try my best regarding the method left by the owner and successor of Songsan Mountain.”
“…Do as you please.”
“Also, if you research the broken shrine of the Geumsinja from forty thousand years ago, the raid on the entrance of Noe-seong-hae will be a bit faster. I’m giving you this information at the cost of offending the noble’s mood.”
“Hmm…”
A good piece of information.
The region called Noe-seong-hae was likely deeply connected to Yang Su-jin’s Unbroken Sea, which the Star Shattering / Void Refinement masters were currently searching.
But the problem was that the informant was Seo Hyul.
Only Seo Hyul himself knew how and to what extent he lied to whom.
I had no idea from where this information could be trusted.
‘The intent behind this information isn’t impure. He just wants to win my favor. And on top of that, he has a bit of intent to test me too.’
I nodded and, conversely, tested him.
“By the way, forty thousand years ago. What was the most impressive thing that happened to you back then? I found the part where Heon-won caught the interest of the god of the mountain the most interesting.”
“Hehe, that’s interesting.”
Seo Hyul laughed as if amused.
“The biggest event forty thousand years ago was the Ascension, right? The event where that person took the seat caused the entire Three Thousand Worlds and Heavenly Road to shake, and the Heavenly Venerables celebrated it. Isn’t it true that almost every event in the Three Thousand Worlds was affected by that?”
“The persecution of the Geumsinja’s descendants was also just one of the aftereffects… Besides such major events, you even list minor incidents involving Heon-won.”
I muttered information I didn’t know and met Seo Hyul’s eyes.
“…If it’s related to the owner of Mount Tai, there might be some hidden truth even I don’t know. Thank you for the good information.”
Seo Hyul, who had been staring at me for a moment, smiled with the corners of his eyes curving like a new moon.
“It seems you’re looking for traces related to the owner of Mount Tai… Though you may already know, I’ll tell you one more thing.”
“Tell me.”
Seo Hyul turned his back with a smirk.
“Heon-won obtained the Gwanchaegan right after we were defeated. He was also the one who suddenly gained a new divine ability while he was trapped during the rampage of the Goe-gun.”
“…!”
“And… Heon-won claims he never trained such a divine ability. Yet exactly at the time we were defeated, he obtained that divine ability… Do you know what that means?”
I felt a chill run down my spine from his next words.
“Someone is… lending him their eyes right now. Hehehe…”
Thump, thump, thump…
I felt cold sweat on my back.
I understood the meaning of Seo Hyul’s words.
The reason Heon-won didn’t catch Goe-gun during its rampage was because, at that moment, he had borrowed a divine ability for seeing the eyes from some ‘being.’
And the being who granted that seeing eyes divine ability had deliberately lent it to Heon-won right after we were defeated.
And that being was very likely connected to the ‘owner of Mount Tai,’ in Seo Hyul’s expression regarding the Taesan Yeolje Art.
All of these facts implied one possibility.
‘The owner of Mount Tai may have been monitoring us through Heon-won’s eyes the moment the Jongmyeongja were defeated.’
A chill ran down my spine.
I finally understood why the character “Gwan” in Heon-won’s eyes had stuck in my mind so vividly.
That gaze might have been Heon-won’s, but it wasn’t Heon-won’s gaze.
“…Thank you for the good information, Seo Hyul.”
“Don’t mention it. I’ll see you later.”
Seo Hyul smiled faintly and tried to leave.
And I too smiled faintly and pulled out the Colorless Glass Sword from my mouth once more.
“Then take care.”
Boom, crack!
With my sword, Seo Hyul was split cleanly in half and died.
I saw his Nascent Soul flying apart and shattering.
His Heavenly Origin Land was also scattered.
Seo Hyul died like that.