Chapter 471
Chapter 471
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 471
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Ally
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘A formidable master.’
Bu Eun-seol narrowed his eyes.
To think he hadn't detected a presence, even if it was from a cave dozens of yards away.
"You want to die! Hah!"
With another thunderous roar, the Soulless Ones were once again shot out like arrows.
*Swoosh.*
At the same time, a shadowy figure of immense size emerged from the cave.
The figure was clad in a thick fur coat made of bearskin and stood over seven feet tall.
If not for the long hair fluttering behind the leather garment, Bu Eun-seol would have thought a great bear had walked out of the cave.
*Thump, thump.*
The figure in the bearskin strode toward Bu Eun-seol and So-yo.
Finally, its features were revealed in the sunlight.
It was a beautiful woman with large eyes and slightly full cheeks. It was So Ok-rim.
She seemed to have lost some weight; her face had grown cuter, and her formidable frame had slimmed down a bit.
"She's like a bear maiden."
As So-yo muttered in a low voice,
"Why did you throw these mindless lumps of flesh into my cave? You completely ruined my meditation!"
So Ok-rim, still fuming, pointed at the fallen Soulless Ones and yelled.
"Huh?"
So Ok-rim, who had been shouting, finally noticed Bu Eun-seol's face and her eyes widened.
"What are you doing here?"
Puffing out her plump cheeks, she approached Bu Eun-seol with a wide grin.
"What? Did you come because you missed me? How did you know I was here?"
"No, I'm here on business."
"Business? Ah, you mean these lumps of meat scattered across the Heavenly Mountains?"
So Ok-rim snorted as if she understood the situation.
"Why would you come all this way for something like that? You could have just sent some subordinates."
So Ok-rim approached him familiarly and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"They're just wandering around the Heavenly Mountains, so they're no threat, are they? It's not like they're going to walk thousands of miles to the Demonic Sanctum."
"I didn't come because of the Soulless Ones."
Pushing her arm off his shoulder, Bu Eun-seol's eyes filled with suspicion.
The fact that the man in black who taught Jeong-cheon the Seven Blood Tears Saber Arts was hiding in the Heavenly Mountains was a top secret among top secrets.
So for So Ok-rim to appear here as if she had been waiting for him, he couldn't help but be suspicious.
"What's with that look?"
"What were you doing here?"
"What do you think? I'm training."
So Ok-rim said with a look of confusion.
"I told you, didn't I? That I would train and then return."
"And you chose this place to train?"
"What, you think I came to this desolate place for a vacation?"
So Ok-rim frowned at Bu Eun-seol's suspicious expression.
"There's no better place to train the spirit, is there? It's incredibly cold, and there's no one around. Despite the desolate landscape, there are surprisingly many animals to hunt and plenty of frozen ponds and lakes."
Despite her explanation, Bu Eun-seol's suspicion did not fade.
"Have you been training here ever since we parted ways?"
"That's right."
As Bu Eun-seol continued to press her, So Ok-rim's expression soured, clearly offended.
"What, are you suspecting me now?"
"It's too much of a coincidence."
"What's a coincidence?"
As So Ok-rim puffed her cheeks out in frustration, Bu Eun-seol pointed to the cave.
"May I see inside?"
"Where?"
"Inside the cave."
So Ok-rim, seeing through his intention, shouted in annoyance.
"Fine, that's more direct than a hundred words. Look all you want!"
Fuming, she went into the cave.
Bu Eun-seol followed So Ok-rim and examined the cave where she had been staying.
It seemed she had lived here for quite some time; the cave contained furniture carved from wood.
In one corner was a bed and what looked like rope made from spliced wood fibers.
*Zing.*
Despite this, Bu Eun-seol immediately activated his Mind-Piercing Vision and scanned the cave's interior again.
He was trying to determine when the furniture had been made and when she had moved in.
‘It's definitely old.’
Judging by the wear and tear on the furniture, it was clear she had been here for at least a year.
‘So she really has been training here.’
Training one's spiritual arts while enduring the cold increases concentration, much like cultivating a cold-natured internal art.
She had likely been trying to master her spiritual arts here to rapidly shorten her training time.
‘The events of that day must have been quite a shock to her.’
So Ok-rim hadn't started training because her martial arts were weak.
She had been greatly startled by the power of Phantom King Sa Ok-cheong's Soul-Summoning Whispers.
Moreover, she had realized that without forging a resilient spirit, she would be unable to face the flood of powerful enemies to come.
And her choice had been the right one.
After all, a formidable master of mind control, Hyeokryeon Eung, had appeared since then, and even Bu Eun-seol himself had nearly died, unable to break the technique.
"Satisfied? Anything else you want to suspect me of?"
As So Ok-rim fumed indignantly, Bu Eun-seol sighed and shook his head.
"No, there's nothing."
"Nothing what?"
"There's no reason to be suspicious."
As Bu Eun-seol readily admitted it, So Ok-rim smacked her lips.
"You're great and all, but you're just too suspicious."
Then she sniffled and asked.
"So, what's the other business?"
Bu Eun-seol, lost in thought, stared at So Ok-rim and began to speak.
"The Seven-Fingered Demonic Saber."
"The Seven-Fingered Demonic Saber? That old man is alive?"
So Ok-rim seemed to know nothing about it.
"Not exactly. But it seems someone who has mastered his saber arts is here."
"What do you mean? His saber arts?"
After a moment of thought, Bu Eun-seol told So Ok-rim everything he had heard from Jeong-cheon.
It wasn't that he trusted her completely, but that it was a story that wouldn't matter much even if it got out.
More importantly, he was curious about her reaction.
"So you're saying this person was quite close to the Seven-Fingered Demonic Saber."
So Ok-rim stroked her chin with a serious expression.
"So that's why these lumps of meat are wandering around the Heavenly Mountains, huh?"
She seemed to regard the story about the Seven-Fingered Demonic Saber as nothing particularly important.
Staring intently into So Ok-rim's eyes, Bu Eun-seol asked.
"How long have the Soulless Ones been here?"
"Since before I got here."
So Ok-rim smacked her lips and said.
"I thought those bastards from the Eight Desolate Three Sages made a bunch of Soulless Ones and then dumped them here because they didn't know how to deal with them."
Bu Eun-seol narrowed his eyes.
So Ok-rim still believed, based on what Shin San-ja had said, that the force controlling the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions was the 'descendants of the Eight Desolate Three Sages.'
"If what you say is true, then that man in black must be nearly impossible to track. He must have chosen the Heavenly Mountains because he was confident he would never be found."
"Most likely."
Bu Eun-seol nodded calmly and turned away.
"Then continue your training."
"You're leaving?"
"Yes."
Then he added one more thing.
"Given the presence of the Soulless Ones, there may be masters from the Three Realms somewhere in these mountains. Be careful."
"The Three Realms?"
It seemed So Ok-rim had truly been isolated here since dealing with the Phantom King, as she knew nothing about the Three Realms.
Bu Eun-seol had no choice but to tell her everything he had learned about the Three Realms so far.
"Hmm, the Three Realms. The Three Realms, you say."
She wore a cryptic expression, as if faintly recalling something from a distant memory.
"They don't act openly, but their envoys are different. They not only issue direct orders but are also powerful martial artists, so you must be cautious."
So Ok-rim's background was not clearly known.
But having gone through thick and thin with her for some time and handled various matters together, he considered her something of a comrade.
"Why worry about something like that? If they cross my path, I'll just beat them to a pulp."
So Ok-rim said, flexing her formidable bicep.
"So, the two of you are going to find this man in black?"
"That's right. The masked old man is surely also a member of the Three Realms. We must find him before they do."
"Hmm."
So Ok-rim stroked her chin, then nodded.
"Alright. Then I'm in."
"Just focus on your training."
Bu Eun-seol refused flatly.
It was for So Ok-rim's own good.
If she stopped her spiritual training midway, all her time would have been for nothing.
"Hahaha. What are you talking about? I finished my spiritual training long ago. I was working on something else."
"You finished?"
"Yep. Here, look."
So Ok-rim pointed to the deepest part of the cave.
On the wall there, various lines and shapes were drawn in a dizzying array.
In another spot, images resembling constellations were carved in a continuous series within circular figures.
"Ugh."
So-yo, who had been looking at it, furrowed her brow and quickly turned her head away.
Just looking at it made her head spin and her stomach churn with nausea.
‘As expected.’
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
He was once again reminded that So Ok-rim was a descendant of the Sage Kings.
To think she could create an effect that attacks the spirit with just a jumble of lines and shapes.
The martial arts of the Eight Desolate Three Sages invariably possessed power and abilities that transcended conventional martial realms...
And So Ok-rim, too, possessed such an art.
"I'll help you. We'll find him much faster that way, you know?"
"Hmm."
Bu Eun-seol stroked his chin.
So Ok-rim had an impossible personality, but she was brilliant, cunning, and skilled in pursuit.
Hadn't the previous case of the Black and White Witches been resolved much faster than expected precisely because he had worked with her?
"Very well. Let's go together."
"But."
So Ok-rim then stared at So-yo, who was standing close beside Bu Eun-seol.
"Who's this little kid?"
Her eyes widened as she asked again.
"Your sister?"
She had a mysterious and beautiful appearance, with fair skin and silver eyes that seemed to take up half her face.
Moreover, she shared Bu Eun-seol's calm yet desolate aura.
"She is the Junior Vice-Commander."
"Junior Vice-Commander? Is there a Senior Vice-Commander too?"
"No, she is my aide-de-camp who accompanies me when I am in the martial world."
The name So-yo was merely an assassin's codename given to her by the Hundred Fury Assassins. It was not her real name.
But when she came under Bu Eun-seol's command, the less-educated commanders of the Four Shadows Hall heard her name, So-yo, and...
...assumed her surname was So and her given name was Yo. Thus, her codename So-yo had become like her real name.
However, So Ok-rim, completely unaware of this fact, had taken it to mean 'Junior Vice-Commander' rather than 'Vice-Commander So'.
"Even if you're short on people, really? You're sending a child like this out into the martial world?"
Tsking her tongue, she looked at So-yo and smiled brightly.
"Little miss. What's your name? Which sect are you from?"
"I'm older than you."
So-yo replied coldly.
"Ahahaha! This adorable little miss certainly knows how to joke."
So Ok-rim, finding even So-yo's cold demeanor cute, laughed heartily and brought her cauldron-lid-sized hand to the girl's cheek.
So-yo turned her head slightly to avoid the touch.
*Blur.*
But the hand blurred, and in the next moment, wasn't So Ok-rim's hand already touching her small, pale cheek?
"Aigoo, how cute. When I eventually marry my fated partner... I hope I have a cute daughter just like you, little miss. Hohoho."
Given So Ok-rim's build and features, the probability of her having a daughter like So-yo was extremely low.
But she glanced at Bu Eun-seol's slender frame and nodded firmly.
"Hmm, there's definitely a chance."
So-yo shook off the hand holding her cheek and said icily.
"How old are you?"
"Me? Hmm... I think I'm twenty-one, or maybe twenty-two."
For a moment, Bu Eun-seol was so dumbfounded he could only gape.
He had thought she was at least his age, or perhaps a little older.
But she had only just passed the age of majority? Did that mean she wasn't even twenty when she first met Seo Jin-ha?
"You're young."
"Huh?"
"I'm thirty."
For a moment, So Ok-rim's eyes wavered.
It was the exact same reaction Bu Eun-seol had when he first met So-yo.
"Hahaha!"
But So Ok-rim was no ordinary person.
She blinked her large eyes, pouted her lips, and pinched So-yo's cheek again.
"Is that so? Does our wittle miss wanna be a thirty-year-old grown-up?"
"Don't pinch my cheek."
"Oh, okay, okay."
So Ok-rim smiled and patted her on the head.
"But you shouldn't tease your elders."
"Don't pat my head, either."
"Oh, okay, okay."
After that, a constant stream of complaints came from So-yo's mouth, like "Don't twist my hair," "Don't grab my earlobe," and "Don't pat my butt."
But despite the constant rebukes, So Ok-rim, for some reason, seemed to be enjoying herself immensely, only stopping her petting after a good while.
‘They get along better than I thought.’
Bu Eun-seol had expected chaos to erupt when So Ok-rim and So-yo met.
If So-yo was a raging north wind in the dead of winter, So Ok-rim was like the summer sun that made people drip with sweat.
But contrary to his expectations, So-yo didn't get angry, and So Ok-rim didn't have a fit.
Being polar opposites, their dynamic was surprisingly compatible.
"Let's be on our way."
At Bu Eun-seol's words, So Ok-rim grinned, revealing her white teeth.
"Alright."
Although their numbers had increased by one, searching the vast expanse of the Heavenly Mountains was no easy task.
The search party consisted of three people, including Bu Eun-seol. Finding a single master hiding here was, for all intents and purposes, impossible.
However, Bu Eun-seol had a unique method for quickly searching the Heavenly Mountains.
Because the Three Realms must have already deployed numerous personnel to search the area.
This meant they would have thoroughly checked all terrain suitable for a long-term hiding place.
Therefore, Bu Eun-seol was moving by quickly passing through areas that showed signs of having been searched and focusing on those that hadn't.
"It's a good method, but it's not going to work."
So Ok-rim, who had been searching under Bu Eun-seol's direction until sunset, shook her head.
"Even with this method, it would take months to search the entire Heavenly Mountains. In that time, he could change his hiding spot."
She continued speaking rapidly.
"If he's good enough to evade the pursuit of such a powerful organization, he might have a special concealment technique. He could even be hiding in a place they've already searched."
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
"An accurate analysis. It's practically impossible for three people to find someone who has evaded the Three Realms' pursuit for so long."
"What, you already have another plan in mind?"
"Yes. I just wanted to try finding him directly first."
"So what's the plan now?"
Bu Eun-seol surveyed his surroundings and said calmly.
"If we can't find him, we'll have to make him come out."
"Oho."
"Fortunately, I have a piece of bait that will interest the man in black. And it's something the people of the Three Realms will drool over, too."
Bu Eun-seol possessed the complete saber manual for the Seven-Fingered Demonic Saber's Seven Blood Tears Saber Arts.
And the man in black had only taught Jeong-cheon the first and fourth forms of the Seven Blood Tears Saber Arts.
The fact that he taught the first and fourth forms, not the first and second...
...meant there was a high probability that the man in black himself had not mastered all the forms.
"And what is this bait?"
Bu Eun-seol fell silent at So Ok-rim's question.
He trusted So Ok-rim to an extent, but that trust was not absolute.
"It's the Seven Blood Tears Saber Arts he passed on to me."
Bu Eun-seol answered with a lie.
"Jeong-cheon. As he was dying, he left the saber manual with me. Since the man in black is the one who taught him the art... if I leave traces of it everywhere, he will surely come looking for me."
In other words, the plan was to use the saber art he supposedly received from Jeong-cheon to pose as his successor and draw out the man in black.
"Hmm. That makes some sense."
So Ok-rim instantly understood Bu Eun-seol's plan.
"In that case, we'll need to disrupt the Three Realms' pursuit so that the hiding man can find you directly."
If Bu Eun-seol were to wander around alone leaving traces of the saber art?
Not only the man in black but also the forces of the Three Realms hiding in the mountains would be able to pursue him.
Therefore, So Ok-rim and So-yo would have to divert the attention of the Three Realms so they couldn't easily chase after Bu Eun-seol.
"Exactly."
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
So Ok-rim's cunning was so sharp that nothing more needed to be said.
"Well, it's not a plan with any big, flashy fights, so it's not much fun. But I said I'd help, so I guess I have no choice."
So Ok-rim smacked her lips and looked at So-yo.
"Does she have to go separately too?"
"Yes. The more the trail splits, the better."
"Mmm."
So Ok-rim, seemingly worried about the small, doll-like So-yo, spoke with uncharacteristic gentleness.
"Take care of yourself. Don't get hurt."
"You too."
"Hahaha. Still a woman of few words. You sly little thing."
As So Ok-rim tried to poke her cheek,
*Whoosh!*
So-yo executed a movement technique and vanished in an instant.
"Oho, her movement technique is quite something. I guess there's nothing to worry about."
So Ok-rim nodded as she gazed in the direction So-yo had disappeared.
"Shall we get started then?"
"There's no need to make a huge scene. A moderate distraction will be enough."
"Moderate? As if."
So Ok-rim looked at Bu Eun-seol and bared her canines.
"If we're going to do this, we might as well smash them to bits."
*BOOM!*
Leaping into the air in a single bound, she sped off in the opposite direction from So-yo.
*KWAAAAAA!*
Unlike usual, So Ok-rim raced off with a tremendous sonic boom.
This way, the Soulless Ones scattered throughout the Heavenly Mountains would hear the sound and surely come for her.
While So Ok-rim and So-yo created these diversions, Bu Eun-seol would leave traces of the Seven Blood Tears Saber Arts everywhere...
...and hope that the man in black would come to find him.