Chapter 1064
As Bazrakan, the Sect Leader of the Myriad Bones Gate, and Rahula, the Lord of the Phantom Dream Fortress, stepped onto the altar—
Thud.
Simultaneously, over thirty fearsome Masters clad in blood-red robes landed around the platform.
They were the hellish assassins personally trained by the Myriad Bones Gate Leader—infamous as the "Crimson Curse." The Red Ghosts of Chaos.
Rumble.
From afar, tremors shook the ground as if countless troops were marching closer.
The armies of two of the Eight Overlords of India were about to arrive at Moon Wheel Palace.
"Saint King."
At that moment, the Myriad Bones Blood King spoke to the Moon Wheel Saint King.
"If you've found the legendary Sacred Artifact, shouldn't it be used for a good cause?"
In truth, they had long coveted the Sacred Artifact of Moon Wheel Palace.
A relic of legend, said to find anything one wishes for.
If they could obtain it—
They would surely find the True Demon, whom the Three Attendants had been desperately searching for. The reward for that would be immense.
"We must have that artifact."
Rumble.
Even now, the sound of an overwhelming force approaching echoed from somewhere.
"Soon, an army of over fifty thousand will enter Moon Wheel Palace," said the Phantom Dream Fortress Lord.
"The Saint King is wise. I trust you won't sacrifice the people of Ratna City."
Though Moon Wheel Palace had exceptional warriors, they were no match for this force.
Beside him, the Myriad Bones Blood King nodded and continued.
"I hear a new Saint King has emerged. If things go wrong, we can always leave the mess for her to clean up, no?"
Then he added,
"If you refuse our proposal, every last citizen of Ratna City will die."
As the Moon Wheel Saint King's gaze turned icy, the Blood King spoke again.
"There's something we must find. Surely the Saint King can make a small concession?"
With the True Demon having vanished, his memories lost—
A Sacred Artifact that could locate anything was now the most precious treasure in the world.
"What will you do? Seems you've lost all your Divine Power as well."
At the Blood King's words, the Saint King's expression darkened.
"This artifact exists to end the drought in Ratna City. The rumor that it finds what one wants is a distortion."
"Then let's test it. That should settle the matter, no?"
"If we do, the drought will remain unsolved, and my life will be wasted for nothing."
"You have a successor anyway."
The Blood King smirked.
"If the artifact can't find anything, we'll withdraw."
The Saint King shook her head firmly.
"That is impossible."
She knew.
This would not end with her death.
What if they didn't get the result they wanted?
—Ah, so the new Saint King has inherited its power. Let's try again with her.
The outcome was obvious.
"What a waste of time," the Blood King said, his eyes darkening.
"If you keep stalling like this..."
The Blood King and the Phantom Dream Fortress Lord grinned ominously as they slowly advanced toward the Saint King.
Mockery and greed swirled in their eyes. Just as their filthy hands reached for her—
"How presumptuous."
A voice, neither loud nor soft, rang out clearly from the void.
Ziiing.
At the same time, a faint glow erupted from the floor of the Grand Hall.
Instantly, the Blood King and the Fortress Lord's faces stiffened.
The energy rising beneath their feet formed an invisible wall, forcing them back.
Thud.
Then, a gray shadow shot up onto the altar in an instant.
It was Bu Eun-seol, disguised as Seol-so, the Martial Soul Society Leader.
"Right now is the Saint King's turn to make her wish. You—scram."
"You...!"
The Blood King recognized Seol-so's face and sneered.
—The Grandmaster of the Central Plains, the Martial Soul Society Leader, is here.
At the coronation of the next Moon Wheel Saint King.
The man who had birthed a new faction—an alliance between the Orthodox and Unorthodox.
News that the Martial Soul Society Leader, the true head of the Four Stars Trading Company, had attended had already spread across all of India.
"We heard you secretly attended the coronation alone," the Phantom Dream Fortress Lord said.
"This matter has nothing to do with the Central Plains. Stay out of it. Meddle, and you'll return as a cold corpse."
Despite their words, killing intent already swirled in their eyes.
No matter how strong the Martial Soul Society Leader was, he couldn't oppose them.
And with the terrifying backing of the Three Attendants, they feared no one now.
"Fools. If this sacred artifact really could find anything, do you think the Three Attendants would have stood idly by until now?"
"What did you say?"
The Blood King and the Fortress Lord exchanged glances.
Not only had the Society Leader discerned their connection to the Three Attendants—
His words carried a meaning even more shocking than that.
"If the sacred artifact of Ratna City could truly find anything?"
Just as he said, the Three Attendants—who had been desperately searching for the True Demon—
would have reduced Moon Wheel Palace to dust if it meant obtaining that artifact.
"Seems you've finally realized you've been wasting your time."
At Bu Eun-seol's sneer, the Phantom Dream Fortress Lord snorted.
"Hmph, the elders are far too busy to bother with trifles like a sacred artifact. That's why we handle such matters."
"You've seen the Three Attendants?"
The moment Bu Eun-seol's eyes flickered with curiosity, the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King beside him scoffed.
"Someone like you isn't worthy of an audience with them. Wake from your delusions."
'They haven't.'
Bu Eun-seol's insight rivaled even the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's.
Just from the Blood King's expression and gaze, he had already pierced through the truth—they had never truly met the Three Attendants.
"No need to waste words with this fool."
The Phantom Dream Fortress Lord spoke then.
"Let's start by slaughtering half of Ratna City's populace first. Then we'll talk."
As they raised their arms to signal the attack—
"Brother Yu!"
At Bu Eun-seol's call,
Whoosh—
A sudden, translucent radiance erupted from all directions, shooting skyward before sealing Moon Wheel Palace off entirely from the outside world.
"Already done!"
A sharp cry echoed as a small shadow descended from the air, landing beside Bu Eun-seol.
It was Yu Cheong-rim.
Bu Eun-seol had long since secured the Four Sacred Tribes of India as a formidable intelligence network.
From the moment he set foot here, he had already conducted an exhaustive investigation into the movements of the Eight Overlords of India.
And the instant he confirmed that the intelligence networks of the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King and the Phantom Dream Fortress Lord had enveloped Ratna City—
He knew they had set their sights on the sacred artifact.
—Even if we find the artifact in time, we'll inevitably clash with them.
So Bu Eun-seol had Yu Cheong-rim secretly layer an ancient formation study—one capable of isolating only the ceremony's interior—well in advance.
"You madman. You actually thought to trap us in a battle formation?"
Neither the Blood King nor the Fortress Lord showed the slightest fear. Instead, they sneered.
"No matter how impressive you are, you can't possibly withstand the combined might of both of us."
Sinister smiles curled on their lips.
Unlike the grandmasters of the Central Plains—
They felt no shame in ganging up on a single opponent.
Huum.
Instead of answering, Bu Eun-seol quietly drew upon his internal energy.
Whereas the Iron Elephant King had barely scraped the threshold of Limitless Equal Enlightenment in the past—
The Saint Among Poisons had not only ascended to the pinnacle of his art but could wield Limitless Power freely.
In other words, though there were gaps in their strength, every one of the Eight Overlords of India had stepped into the Martial Extreme Realm.
For the first time in his life, Bu Eun-seol would face two Martial Extreme Realm masters simultaneously.
[Will you continue playing the Martial Soul Society Leader?]
Yu Cheong-rim, wearing a troubled expression, sent a voice transmission.
[Lord. They're terrifyingly powerful.]
Bu Eun-seol replied calmly.
[Don't worry. I'll handle this.]
[Then... I'll take my leave now.]
Yu Cheong-rim looked apologetic.
[I'm sorry for breaking my promise.]
Fwat—
The moment he sent the transmission, he activated his movement technique to flee.
Swish.
But just then, the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King slipped around Bu Eun-seol's right flank—while the Phantom Dream Fortress Lord naturally sealed off his left.
As the auras of the two supreme masters intertwined, the very flow of the air froze, and a suffocating pressure bore down from above.
Flick— Thud.
Yet—a small shadow plummeted from the sky, landing right beside Bu Eun-seol again.
It was Yu Cheong-rim, who had just tried to escape the formation moments ago.
"Eh?"
He blinked in utter bewilderment.
He was the one who had completed the formation under Bu Eun-seol's instructions—so he knew its structure better than anyone.
He had definitely exited through the Life Gate—so how had he been dragged back in?
'Don't tell me...?'
Suddenly, Bu Eun-seol's earlier words resurfaced in his mind.
—This formation must trap at least two of the Eight Overlords' elites.
A normal formation would shatter instantly—so we need a living component to act as the Life Gate.
Back then, Yu Cheong-rim had paled and asked:
—Does that mean I have to fight too?
—You possess an exceptional movement technique.
Bu Eun-seol had requested calmly.
—Just hold out while I fight. That's all I ask.
—Tch. Fine. Understood.
He had agreed—
But he never actually intended to stay in the middle of a bloodbath.
Which was why he had bolted the moment the formation was complete—only to find himself back inside instead?
"You tricked me?"
"I didn't get the chance to explain."
Bu Eun-seol's tone was unreadable.
"I rebuilt the formation with the Reversal principle—just in case."
He had anticipated Yu Cheong-rim's escape and restructured the formation using Reversal's profound logic—ensuring that anyone who left would be pulled back in.
"Ugh."
Yu Cheong-rim glared at Bu Eun-seol, who answered shamelessly, and suddenly remembered something.
'Come to think of it, the Lord was the same.'
He had vaguely sensed it ever since the Black-White Witch incident.
If So Ok-rim was a witch who drained people's blood with vicious words and fists,
then Bu Eun-seol was a Death God who dragged people to hell with his calm voice and expression.
"That bastard is the Life Gate!"
At that moment, the Myriad Bones Blood King, who had considerable expertise in battle formations, spotted the pale glow floating above Yu Cheong-rim's head and shouted.
"Kill him!"
Chwararak!
The Red Ghosts of Chaos immediately drew their blood-red bone-shaped hidden weapons and—
Shu shu shu shu!—hurled them all at Yu Cheong-rim at once.
"Uwaaah!"
Yu Cheong-rim screamed as he unleashed his movement technique.
Chwarak!
A radiant light spread as if his body had split into dozens of copies, and in an instant, he effortlessly dodged the barrage of hidden weapons.
"Hmph."
Yu Cheong-rim landed back on the ground and snorted.
"If I were weak enough to die to trash like you, I'd have already been killed by that bear-faced witch!"
Of course, the "bear-faced witch" Yu Cheong-rim referred to was none other than So Ok-rim.
Perhaps feeling guilty for leaving his body and mind battered every time they met,
she had taken him to Biju and taught him the Body-Locomotion Martial Art—a technique that allowed him to protect himself in any situation.
But the Body-Locomotion Martial Art So Ok-rim taught him was
far more complex and abstruse than any other martial art in the murim, requiring extreme patience to master.
There was no way Yu Cheong-rim—a thief who stole daily for the thrill—could calmly master such a convoluted technique that even scholars would shake their heads at.
In the end, he had spent months being thoroughly beaten by So Ok-rim, forcibly learning the martial art through sheer pain.
"Attack again!"
The Red Ghosts of Chaos unleashed another volley of hidden weapons.
Papa-pa-pa! Chwak!
Each time, Yu Cheong-rim's body scattered and reformed, leaving behind dozens of star-like afterimages.
This was the movement technique So Ok-rim had taught him—the Mystic Star Shadow Steps.
This profound movement technique, resembling stars weaving through the night sky, scattered dozens of luminous afterimages with every activation.
And whenever an attack landed, it effortlessly deflected the external force piercing his body.
Swish!
As their attacks repeatedly failed, the Red Ghosts of Chaos, visibly frustrated, drew their swords and closed in on Yu Cheong-rim.
'He's holding up well.'
Bu Eun-seol nodded slightly as he watched.
With that level of skill, Yu Cheong-rim could hold his own against the Red Ghosts of Chaos for a while.
Now, all that remained was to cut down the Myriad Bones Blood King and the Phantom Dream Fortress Lord.
"Strange."
The Myriad Bones Blood King and the Phantom Dream Fortress Lord looked down at Bu Eun-seol with eerie expressions.
"What's the point of this?"
Their intelligence network spanned all of India.
They knew that Seol-so, the Martial Soul Society Leader, had attended the coronation alone—with no reinforcements from the Central Plains.
Even now, half their total forces were storming Moon Wheel Palace.
And yet, the Moon Wheel Saint King had exhausted all her Divine Power and Internal Power—rendering her unable to fight.
So why was this man standing against them alone?
"I don't understand why you'd interfere in matters that don't concern you and invite death."
To them, Bu Eun-seol was already as good as a corpse.
Waaah!
Meanwhile, a tremendous noise erupted from outside Moon Wheel Castle.
It seemed the troops stationed outside, unable to breach the battle formations surrounding the coronation, had begun fighting.
"Saint King. You should withdraw for now."
At Bu Eun-seol's words, the Moon Wheel Saint King stepped on the ground in an intricate pattern.
Giiing—
In an instant, she vanished as if evaporated.
She didn't waste time insisting on fighting—wisely retreating immediately.
Watching this, the Myriad Bones Blood King chuckled darkly.
"Even if you hide, there's nowhere to run."
The massive forces of the Myriad Bones Gate and the Phantom Dream Fortress had surrounded not just Moon Wheel Castle but all of Ratna City.
Even if the Moon Wheel Saint King hid in some secret refuge, it would only be temporary—there was no escape.
"You two."
Then, Bu Eun-seol spoke in a solemn voice.
"You will die because of your pointless loyalty to the True Demon."
"Nonsense."
Kwaaang!
As the Myriad Bones Blood King unleashed his Divine Power, the entire sky churned like black storm clouds.
His body dissipated like smoke, merging with an indigo aura before reforming into a colossal, skull-shaped mist.
The spectral skull, exuding a sinister energy as if risen from the underworld, loomed ominously in the sky.
From its hollow eye sockets, eerie crimson flashes flickered menacingly.
Its form and function bore a striking resemblance to the Limitless Power Dokjon had once wielded—the Black Whirlwind Shadow.
Crunch.
At that moment, the Phantom Dream Fortress Lord also unleashed his hidden power.
A sinister emerald light cascaded like a waterfall from his pupils, and soon, his physical form began to change.
Before long, he stood clad in armor shimmering with green radiance, gripping a long, razor-sharp spear.
His appearance was ghostly, as if he had clawed his way out of a nightmare.
[I'll kill you in one strike.]
Whoosh.
As the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King opened his jaws—
Rumble.
A massive, bone-shaped light surged toward Bu Eun-seol's body.
Sssssk—
Wherever that skeletal radiance touched, everything darkened, losing its original color.
It seemed to be a fusion of martial arts and some vile Indian sorcery—or perhaps a curse.
BOOM!
Bu Eun-seol unleashed the Heavenly Light Seven Forms, simultaneously attacking both the falling bones and the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King.
Screeeech!
Yet, even as his strike landed—
The Blood King's massive skull merely flickered briefly with light, showing no visible damage.
And wasn't he still endlessly spewing far more bones than the torrent of power Bu Eun-seol had unleashed?
Twitch.
Bu Eun-seol's thick brows shot skyward.
The Heavenly Light Seven Forms—
A fist technique that had completely transformed the Fist Demon Seven Forms through the martial arts of the Between the Orthodox and Unorthodox.
Though its raw power fell short of the original, its intricacy and profound adaptability surpassed it.
Yet he blocked it so easily?
[To think the Central Plains still uses such outdated fist techniques.]*
The Ten Thousand Bones Blood King cackled as he continued raining down bones.
BOOM!
Meanwhile, the Phantom Dream Fortress Lord thrust his elongated spear toward Bu Eun-seol's throat.
Unaffected by the falling bones, he moved like lightning, unleashing razor-sharp spear shadows.
Flick.
Bu Eun-seol instantly activated Swift Shadowless, splitting into dozens of flickering afterimages—
Swish swish swish!
Yet the Phantom Dream Fortress Lord's spear never missed, piercing through the illusions to strike his True Body with pinpoint accuracy.
Hiiiiisss—
The Phantom Dream Spear Technique created hundreds of intangible afterimages like illusions, but at the tip of the spear, all destructive force was condensed into reality.
Rumble— Swish swish swish!
As bone-shaped light and mist-like spear shadows embroidered the air, they wove together into a net—
Instantly smothering Bu Eun-seol's Heavenly Light Seven Forms.
Seamless as a Heavenly Robe.
The combined assault of the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King and the Phantom Dream Fortress Lord was flawless.
Both masters possessed cruel and vicious temperaments, and their martial arts were infused with the mysterious sorcery unique to India.
Even when improvising, their coordination was as seamless as if they had trained in Combined Attack Arts for decades.
'The Ten Thousand Bones Blood King first.'
Compared to the Phantom Dream Spear Technique, which scattered like ghosts and stabbed relentlessly—
The Ten Thousand Bones Blood King's method of dominating space was far more troublesome and threatening.
'In one strike—!'
Zzt—zzzt—CRACK!
Bu Eun-seol executed an ultra-high-speed Movement Technique, escaping their attack range before—
Flick!
Instantly ascending into the air, arriving right before the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King's skeletal form.
Flash!
At the same time, a radiant beam of light spilled forth, dyeing the entire world in brilliance.
Realizing that unless he first eliminated the Blood King, who was raining down those bones, he would never be able to block the Phantom Dream Spear Technique—
He unleashed the Fifth Form of the Heavenly Light Seven Forms—Celestial Star Shatter—infused with Harmonization.
FWOOOOOSH!
Exposed to Harmonization, the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King's form instantly vanished.
But then—
Gather, gather.
A gray mist swirled together, reforming the skeletal shape once more.
BOOM!
Meanwhile, Bu Eun-seol, still descending, was struck by the Phantom Dream Fortress Lord's spear and sent flying about a hundred feet away.
[Heh heh heh heh.]
"HAHAHAHA!"
Seeing Bu Eun-seol fall, the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King and the Phantom Dream Fortress Lord erupted in mad laughter.
The Eight Overlords of India—
When two of India's supreme grandmasters joined forces—
Their martial arts, completely different from those of the Central Plains, unleashed an unexpected, overwhelming power.
Rumble.
Bu Eun-seol rose from the collapsed fortress wall, slowly stepping forward through the dust.
His gaze, visible through the dirt-streaked strands of his hair, was frozen as cold as glacial ice.
'If I combine the Bloody Tears Seven Forms into a fusion strike, I could end this easily.'
No matter how many bizarre powers they unleashed, they wouldn't be able to withstand the Bloody Tears Seven Forms fused with multiple energies.
Hadn't he even used it to defeat Myeong-myeol, who rivaled the power of the Four Divine Heaven Lords?
'But right now, I am the Martial Soul Society Leader.'
From now on, he had to defeat strong opponents under this identity.
'Using a sword should still be fine.'
Even as the Martial Soul Society Leader, he had always carried a blade.
Though his signature technique was the Azure Heaven Seven Forms.
Using a new sword technique shouldn't be an issue.
Shing.
A faint glimmer spilled forth as he drew Muk-hon.
Until now, he had felled countless formidable foes and faced the power of mysterious supernatural abilities.
His martial arts had advanced endlessly, and before he knew it, he had stepped into a new True Realm.
Boom!
Suddenly, Bu Eun-seol deliberately hurled himself toward the cascade of bones.
Though wrapped in Protective Astral Energy, each time the bones struck him, his body shuddered violently, and the energy within him drained away.
A few more exposures to these bones, and his flesh would cease functioning—death would claim him instantly.
Swish! Fwoosh!
Amidst it all, the nightmare-like Phantom Dream Spear Techniques pierced his vital points.
Yet he meticulously tracked the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King's movements, colliding his body against the bones again and again.
Boom! Rumble—
Sent flying over a dozen jang and crashing through a stone wall, Bu Eun-seol's right eye shimmered with a surging blue energy.
The mysterious power that only the current lord of the Ancient Sword Forest could wield had manifested.
'Got it.'
Hwiik.
Forming a sword seal, he slowly traced a circle in the air with Ink Soul Sword.
Then, in an instant, neither sword energy nor martial force, but a clear, transparent energy spread outward.
Sssssaaah—
As the wave—like the primordial breath of creation—expanded in a mist-like form, the bones of the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King, steeped in deathly energy, began vanishing in an instant.
"What is this?"
The Ten Thousand Bones Blood King was stunned.
In exchange for kneeling before the Three Attendants, he had obtained the long-coveted origin of Mount Mao's Arts from the Central Plains.
In the martial world, Mount Mao's Arts were commonly associated with forbidden techniques that summoned the dead as jiangshi.
But in truth, they encompassed the orthodox esoteric arts of Taoism—talismans (fulu), incantations (zhuwen), alchemy (liandan shu), and life-nurturing techniques (yangsheng shu)—all methods of manipulating the energy of nature.
Though India also had its own sorcery, it remained scattered and unorganized, lacking a proper system.
But once combined with the Mount Mao's Arts of the Central Plains, everything changed.
Not only did he gain access to ancient mysteries of spiritual energy, but even knowledge of death itself—a realm considered forbidden.
Thanks to this, the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King transcended the limits of sorcery,
enabling him to wield the Radiant Net Blood Bones, imbued with the power of death.
The Radiant Net Blood Bones shared properties similar to Limitless Power.
Ordinary martial arts could not block them—only a force of equal magnitude could destroy them.
[With just the act of drawing a mere circle in the air, he's blocking this king's Radiant Net Blood Bones?!]
Unbeknownst to him, Bu Eun-seol had fully grasped the nature of the Radiant Net Blood Bones and countered them
by expressing the most profound Sword Studies in the world through Natural Qi.
Yet the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King remained oblivious, mistakenly believing his power was being blocked by nothing more than a childishly simple circle.
Paa! Paa!
Miraculous events unfolded one after another.
As the Radiant Net Blood Bones shattered, the floating form of the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King flickered incessantly in the sky.
'Just as I thought.'
A flash of light passed through Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
Anyone in the world would assume the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King's physical body was his true form.
But in reality, the blood bones he unleashed were his True Body.
'There's no way he could endure Harmonization so easily.'
Even the Baekri Clan and the Servants of the True Demon suffered fatal wounds when struck by Harmonization.
How could a mere Ten Thousand Bones Blood King of India remain unscathed after exposure?
Realizing that those bones were his True Body, continuously expelled through the mysteries of circulation,
Bu Eun-seol wielded the power of the Three Divine Powers within the Heavenly Light Endless Art,
ceaselessly manifesting the ultimate technique of the Misty Waves of Rivers and Lakes form.
The moment the Radiant Net Blood Bones touched the mist, unable to withstand the overwhelming force, they exploded with a deafening roar.
Bang!
The shattered Radiant Net Blood Bones scattered bloody fragments into the air.
But that was only the beginning.
The moment the power of the Misty Waves of Rivers and Lakes, infused with the Way of Nature, made contact,
like sparks igniting oil, the surrounding Radiant Net Blood Bones instantly turned gold and erupted in a chain reaction.
Kwa-kwang!
The second explosion was even greater.
The blast spread like a living creature, terrifyingly consuming the surrounding blood bones.
Puh-peng! Bang-bang-bang-clang!
The sky was instantly engulfed in crimson flames.
Watching this unfold, the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King, beyond shock and now gripped by terror, looked down at his own body.
The blood bones—his very life essence—were detonating uncontrollably in a chain reaction, defying his will.
The shockwaves reached him in the sky, tearing his form apart, twisting and distorting him.
[Lord of the Phantom Dream Fortress!]
As his supposedly indestructible blood bones vanished one by one under Bu Eun-seol's hand, the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King let out a desperate scream.
[Get him off me—now!]
The Ten Thousand Bones Blood King seemed on the verge of losing his soul.
Seol-so, leader of the Martial Soul Society.
Aside from founding the Martial Soul Society, he had no particularly notable achievements.
Just another unremarkable figure.
Yet in reality, he was a transcendent Master capable of facing two of the Eight Overlords of India simultaneously?
[Rahula!]
As the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King shrieked, the Lord of the Phantom Dream Fortress frantically swung his Phantom Dream Spear.
But Bu Eun-seol moved like a specter, relentlessly pursuing only the Ten Thousand Bones Blood King, refusing to let go.