Chapter 1091
Yu Un-ryong spoke with absolute certainty in his eyes.
"It must be Heavenly Mechanism Star's doing."
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
Truthfully, he had suspected Heavenly Mechanism Star was behind this ever since hearing the report.
But the reason he hadn't voiced it aloud... was because he still didn't want to tell Yu Un-ryong about Chu-so and Naria.
About how his mother, Saintess Sa Ah, was the reincarnation of the lover of the True Demon, who was born at the dawn of time—a truth so unbelievable that even now, he struggled to accept it.
"Is there something else going on?"
Yu Un-ryong had reached the point where he could read Bu Eun-seol's thoughts just by looking at his expression.
"Don't tell me the ones who attacked Seo Jin-ha were..."
"Correct."
Reluctantly, Bu Eun-seol recounted everything.
About Naria being the Saintess born as Man-wol's twin star, and her connection to Chu-so.
And the story of his mother and the True Demon, glimpsed within Naria's memories.
"I see... So that's how it is."
Even Yu Un-ryong, who rarely showed surprise at anything, seemed deeply shaken this time, falling silent for a long while.
The martial world was filled with countless unbelievable legends and bizarre tales.
Moreover, he had read ten thousand volumes, mastering all manner of esoteric knowledge under heaven.
And yet, the story Bu Eun-seol told him carried a strangeness akin to hearing myths from another world—and a shock that went beyond even that.
"I see."
Yu Un-ryong muttered softly, his gaze flickering between clarity and haze.
Even for him, accepting such a tale would take time.
"At any rate, if this involves Chu-so, then you must resolve it as the Martial Soul Society Leader."
Chu-so had ties to countless factions.
While the authority of the Martial Soul Lord was formidable,
it also entangled him with numerous powers, and as the heir apparent of the Demonic Path Murim, his movements were restricted.
But the Martial Soul Society Leader was the head of a coalition between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions.
No one could interfere with his involvement in martial affairs, and since he had no particular debts or grudges with other factions,
he was the most suitable to handle this matter.
Leaving the Demon Hall in secret, Bu Eun-seol headed to a remote mountain village in Muha under the alias Seol-so.
It was the village where the Copyist had recently been found brutally murdered.
'Nothing, as expected.'
Though he combed through the village thoroughly,
he found no useful information beyond the fact that the Copyist had been killed.
Undoubtedly, an exceptional intelligence network had erased all traces except for the evidence of the murder itself.
"If it's come to this..."
Bu Eun-seol's expression darkened.
Even with the Empty Mind Spirit Communion, which could uncover traces decades old, he found no leads.
Never before had something like this happened.
'To erase traces so meticulously that even a technique like the Empty Mind Spirit Communion is rendered useless...'
To mobilize such manpower and resources just to kill a village scribe or shaman—
What in the world was Chu-so planning?
"This won't be easy."
Bu Eun-seol scrutinized the village once more.
Normally, when traces were wiped this cleanly, the place would either be a ghost town devoid of people,
or a fake village hastily reconstructed with materials and labor.
But this was undoubtedly a centuries-old settlement, and its inhabitants were ordinary peasants.
"Then those killed weren't mere scribes—they were disguised as ordinary scribes after death."
That was the only deduction he could make at the moment.
"In that case..."
Closing his eyes, he began spreading his Wind & Cloud Divine Qi outward,
searching for any possible Absolute Boundary.
From his previous encounters with Jeong-yeong and Naria,
he had learned that an Absolute Boundary wasn't an invisible, transparent barrier, but rather layers of overlapping forces with differing wavelengths.
In short, the Absolute Boundary was
an arcane technique that created a new space by clashing light, sound, and energy in misaligned opposition.
'Wind & Cloud Divine Qi can slip through even the slightest gap.'
The inner space of an Absolute Boundary
was a space slightly displaced from where it should originally be.
Put simply, it existed in the same location but was subtly distorted.
However, because Wind & Cloud Divine Qi could pass through even needle-thin gaps,
it could detect that minute distortion.
But something unexpected happened.
Ziiing.
It wasn't that he sensed something through the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi—
but rather, some lingering force deep underground seemed to resonate with his energy, reacting as if in harmony.
"Hmm."
He couldn't tell if there had been an Absolute Boundary.
But one thing was certain: a mysterious power had existed here.
Bu Eun-seol gazed at the distant sky.
There was only one person who could solve this riddle.
The sole survivor of Sage Forest—Han Sang-ja.
Henan, Heavenly Family Manor.
This was one of Han Sang-ja's many hidden residences scattered across the Central Plains.
Having received Bu Eun-seol's message,
he had spent the past fortnight investigating the "Copyist Murders" and now shared his findings.
"Take a look at this."
Picking up a brush, he began marking the villages where the fortune-tellers had died with large dots on a sprawling map.
To the untrained eye, they were just random scattered traces.
But to Bu Eun-seol's eyes, those dots were forming a strange, intricate pattern—as if woven together by some hidden rule.
"It seems to indicate some special location."
"Correct."
Han Sang-ja unrolled a freshly made scroll from the deepest part of the study.
It was the Heaven-Earth Dragon Vein Map, where the earth's energy flowed like writhing dragons, connected by crimson threads.
Swish. Swish.
Han Sang-ja marked the locations of the recently slaughtered copyists' villages on the map, one by one.
Cheoksong Village in the east, Baeksa Village in the west, Hwamyeong Village in the south...
When he connected them with lines on the Heaven-Earth Dragon Vein Map, a perfect triangle formed.
"Every village lies atop the crown of the dragon veins."
He spoke toward Bu Eun-seol, who stood across from him.
"Only sages can verify the Heaven-Earth Dragon Vein Map. The flow shifts with every seasonal node, except for the veins corresponding to the crown."
The reason the scroll had been recently made—
It was because Han Sang-ja had redrawn the map according to the altered veins.
"In other words, as you suspected, Lord, the probability is high that Heavenly Mechanism Star is behind this incident."
Han Sang-ja declared firmly.
"Because he has imposed order within chaos."
To impose order within chaos.
The words were simple, but accomplishing such a thing would be difficult even if thousands of scholars racked their brains.
The only one capable of this in such a short time was Heavenly Mechanism Star.
The Killing Ghost slaughtering the copyists was most likely Chu-so, just as expected.
"Building atop the crown of the dragon veins... It sounds like the conditions for an Absolute Boundary."
Bu Eun-seol had sensed traces of a strange power in the villages he had investigated earlier.
Perhaps it was the aftermath of an Absolute Boundary being deployed.
"However, the conditions of these villages differ slightly from the information you shared with me about the Absolute Boundary, Lord."
Han Sang-ja said, gazing at the map.
"These are not places that bustle only during certain seasons—they are constantly crowded with people."
The Absolute Boundaries encountered so far—
Had only been found in locations completely devoid of people except during specific seasons.
But the villages discovered this time merely corresponded to the crowns of the dragon veins—
A completely different condition from the previous Absolute Boundaries.
"That's why I suspect... this might be an Absolute Boundary created in a new way, unlike any before."
The Absolute Boundary was something even Bu Eun-seol at full strength could not break.
He had analyzed it endlessly, yet could only vaguely guess its principles—never fully uncovering the method of its manifestation.
And even Han Sang-ja, up to now—
Had not yet deciphered the fundamental principles behind the technique of the Absolute Boundary, which perfectly severs space itself.
"A new kind of Absolute Boundary."
"Correct. The villages remain completely unharmed, the people untouched... yet only the fortune-tellers are precisely selected and brutally slaughtered."
He continued.
"It appears as though the acts occurred within the villages, but in truth, they may have taken place in another space entirely."
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
If it were that Chu-so, he would certainly be capable of deploying a new kind of Absolute Boundary.
"If my prediction is correct—"
Han Sang-ja pointed to a specific spot on the map.
"He will seek out a village at the vertex of the dragon veins where a copyist resides... and commit another horrific slaughter."
A blazing heat radiated from his eyes.
At last, they had grasped the tail of that Heavenly Mechanism Star.
Unheungjin was a village straight out of a painting.
In the mornings, dewdrops shimmered on the grass blades, and in the evenings, the smoke from cooking rice beneath the old zelkova tree melted into the sunset.
But its tranquility was not merely skin-deep.
The three mountain peaks surrounding the village—
Yongdu Peak in the east, Homi Mountain in the west, and Gwiam Rock in the north—were not just towering cliffs.
They were three vents where the colossal dragon veins, coursing through the earth since ancient times, surfaced above ground.
The earth's energy, surging from the three vertices—
Wove itself into invisible threads, interlacing, braiding, and overlapping in the air to unfold a vast, silken curtain.
The Absolute Boundary.
The Secret Arts of the Three Clans, dividing space—this mysterious technique, never before revealed in the martial world—
Had been unfurled over this village.
"Perfect. It's utterly perfect."
Beneath an ancient tree that completely blocked the sunlight—
A man stood on the hill overlooking Unheungjin.
Behind him loomed towering shadows reminiscent of mountain ranges.
The shadows were dyed pitch-black—
As if someone had dipped a giant figure in ink from head to toe.
"This shouldn't be undone by force."
The white-robed man stirred his Internal Power, then began extracting his consciousness like a thread, condensing it in the air.
His consciousness then became a butterfly fluttering in the breeze.
With quiet wingbeats, the butterfly slowly began flying toward the entrance of Unheungjin.
Brushing past grass blades, crossing a stream, it finally reached the village outskirts and carefully alighted upon an ancient tree.
Drip.
The moment the butterfly landed, the surrounding scenery melted away like water—
And with a strange vibration, a mystical light began descending over the entire village.
"Truly, this requires much effort."
The white-robed man opened his eyes again, then descended the hill with a Movement Technique as light as clouds, standing before the village entrance.
Then, beneath the bright sun, a youth emerged bearing an innocent, childlike smile.
It was none other than Heavenly Mechanism Star, Chu-so.
Step, step.
With dignified strides, he began walking toward the village entrance.
And the inky-black shadows behind him followed in step.
But something was strange.
One would expect the villagers to at least glance at Chu-so as he approached with those dark shadows in tow.
Yet they paid him no mind, continuing their tasks as if he weren't there.
Step, step.
Even when Chu-so deliberately moved as if to collide with them, he passed through them like air.
Snap, swish.
He reached out, and a large branch from the tree at the village entrance snapped into his grasp.
Swinging the branch idly, he strolled forward until he arrived at the central well.
"Needlessly meticulous, aren't they?"
With a solemn expression, he tossed the branch into the well.
"This sort of thing is utterly meaningless."
Splash.
Though it was just a light branch, the impact sent up a massive wave, as if a boulder had been dropped.
Whoosh!
A column of water erupted skyward, soaring to the heavens before suddenly dyeing the sky in dazzling hues.
Zzziiing—
In an instant, the village transformed.
The worn-down settlement reshaped into a Peach Blossom Paradise, as if inhabited by immortals, and the villagers themselves changed into martial artists clad in white robes.
"No matter how hard they try, the Byeol Clan remains just that—the Baekri Clan."
Chu-so wore an expression of profound disappointment as he observed the people now staring at him.
"Every time, I'm reminded—the figures of the Byeol Clan carry such a tainted aura, it's hard to believe they're Baekri."
Ssshhhk—
The villagers parted, and an old man of transcendent bearing stepped forward.
His eyebrows and hair were white as snow, yet his eyes gleamed with sharp vitality, and his posture was straight as a spear—
As if a dragon had taken human form.
"To shatter our clan's Absolute Boundary and disrupt the heavenly mechanisms..."
Beneath that serene smile,
Chu-so's gaze brimmed with an indescribable malevolence, and the old man's eyes narrowed to slits.
"Heavenly Mechanism Star, Chu-so. So you are the abomination birthed by the Sage Forest."
Despite the outright insult, Chu-so merely grinned.
"To think such an insignificant wretch would be recognized—even remembered by name. I am humbled."
"Evil beings must return to the void of eternity."
Frowning deeply, the old man extended his hand, and a mysterious radiance gathered in his palm.
Whoosh, whoosh—
But then, the unexpected happened.
The shadows behind Chu-so began greedily devouring that light.
Zzziiing—
Simultaneously, the once-black silhouettes transformed into masked figures now radiating white brilliance.
"Darkness Corrosion Power?!"
The old man's eyes widened as he discerned the nature of the shadows.
"You've created Night Silkworms?!"
The masked figures, having absorbed every trace of the old man's light, now pulsed with an eerie glow.
Night Silkworms.
Despite their tranquil name—"silkworms of the night"—they were otherworldly horrors that silently corroded and consumed the energy of their prey in the darkness.
Once crafted by the True Demon to attack the Baekri Clan,
Their indiscriminate nature made them impossible to control, and they were believed to have faded into obscurity, unfinished.
Yet the Night Silkworms Chu-so commanded now flawlessly distinguished friend from foe—
And their power far surpassed any known records.
"Sharp as ever."
Chu-so spoke playfully.
"Having absorbed energies of the same nature... they won't stop until every last wielder of that power is dead."
His smile turned icy.
"Old man, was your name... Geum Mun-gun?"
The old man's willow-like eyebrows twitched.
Not only had this fiend located the most secretive clan in the world, but he had also uncovered the names of its members?
"Do enjoy yourself."
As Chu-so stepped back, the Night Silkworms soaring into the sky suddenly—
ROOOOAR—!
Transformed into colossal white dragons and began tearing into the villagers.
Manifestation Art Energy.
They were replicating the most profound and mysterious power in the world.
Zzziiing—
The villagers' bodies blurred, then erupted skyward as identical white dragons.
CRACK!
The heavens filled with blinding white flashes.
Hundreds of dragons exhaled beams of light, their breaths clashing and tearing through the atmosphere.
Scales struck by the light shattered with thunderous force, scattering into dazzling fragments, while even a grazing hit left gaping holes in massive wings.
As the storm of light subsided, a brutal close-quarters battle erupted.
CRUNCH!
One dragon, a transformed Night Silkworm, clamped its jaws onto another's nape and wrenched violently.
The bitten dragon writhed in agony, twisting midair as it carried its attacker on its back.
Razor-sharp claws scraped against silver scales, producing a horrific screech, and where scales were ripped away, fountains of blood erupted.
The bitten dragon thrashed desperately, sinking its fangs into its foe's wing joints in retaliation.
Crunch.
The sound of bones shattering echoed as the two dragons, now reduced to massive lumps of gore, began their plummet to the ground.
"A stalemate."
The Golden Gate Lord, watching the battle, smirked.
"Impossible."
BOOM!
Suddenly, the tails of the white dragons—transformed villagers—swelled monstrously, then lashed through the air like whips breaking the sound barrier.
BOOM!
With a deafening roar, the Night Silkworms struck head-on by the attack let out no final scream—only spiraled down, their balance shattered.
RUMBLE!
Instinctively, the Night Silkworms formed a massive circle, pressing their wings together to create a white shield.
But with every swing of the Side Family's tails, long streaks of crimson blood unfurled across the sky—
—until the dragons reverted to their human forms and plummeted to the earth.
"Countless factions have coveted our family's power. They've tried to imitate it."
The old man, the Golden Gate Lord, clicked his tongue as he looked at Chu-so.
"But none could ever contain the true Manifestation Art Energy. After all, it's a power only the direct lineage of the main family can wield."
Rip. Sizzle.
The villagers, now white dragons, tore the Night Silkworms apart and began swallowing them whole.
"Now it's your turn."
As the Golden Gate Lord fixed Chu-so with a solemn gaze—
"Heh heh heh..."
Chu-so pointed a finger at the old man's face—
"HAHAHAHA!"
—before suddenly bursting into mad laughter.
After laughing for a long while, Chu-so clutched his forehead and shook his head.
"This is the problem with the Side Family."
"......"
"They pretend to be the main lineage when they're not even close."
SPLASH!
At that moment, geysers of blood erupted from the bodies of the white dragons embroidering the sky.
Drip, drip, drip—
A downpour of scarlet rained down—
BOOM. BOOM.
—and the villagers who had swallowed the Night Silkworms turned into cold corpses, dropping one by one to the ground.
"How is this—?"
The Golden Gate Lord's eyes bulged.
"So simple."
Chu-so shook his head at the old man.
"People usually hide their killing blows, don't they? Yet I came charging in openly. Did you really think I'd bring mere Night Silkworms?"
With a wicked grin, he lowered his voice.
"They're not Night Silkworms. They're Bloodline Shatterers."
"Bloodline Shatterers?"
"Forged from ancient secret arts—they have all sorts of functions."
Chu-so shrugged.
"For example, their blood can break the Dragon Transformation Manifestation of the Baekri Clan."
As the Golden Gate Lord's eyes widened, Chu-so chuckled.
"Or did you really think I'd be insane enough to attack the Baekri bloodline with Night Silkworms carrying Soul-Demon Magic Energy?"
Seeing the shadows absorbing Manifestation Art Energy, the old man had naturally assumed they were Night Silkworms—creatures crafted by the True Demon.
And why wouldn't he?
The technique Chu-so used to find the flaw in the Absolute Boundary and destroy its source concentrated in the ancient tree—
—was none other than the True Cave Great Net Creation, an Esoteric Ritual Art frequently employed by the True Demon's descendants.
So of course, the Golden Gate Lord assumed Chu-so was wielding the True Demon's secret arts.
And naturally, he believed the black-masked figures absorbing his power were the legendary Night Silkworms.
But in truth, they were ancient Demon Weapons—specifically designed to dismantle the Baekri Clan's techniques.
The Golden Gate Lord's eyelids twitched.
Had he been just a little more cautious, he could've avoided the trap.
But Chu-so had boldly deceived him—exploiting the assumption of "obviousness."
"Impossible."
The Golden Gate Lord let out a deep sigh, as if realizing something.
"There shouldn't be a Demon Weapon capable of breaking our clan's techniques so easily."
Chu-so might seem like he's freely giving away information—
But in truth, most of his words are traps.
Like the Mind Seizing Secret Art, they subtly distort the enemy's perception.
"You used the ley lines."
A mere Bloodline Shatterer couldn't break the Baekri Clan's Dragon Transformation Manifestation.
He must have exploited the ley lines woven through the village to dismantle their secret arts.
Ley lines were essential for constructing the Side Family's Absolute Boundary—
But they also served as a barrier, preventing Manifestation Art Energy from leaking outward.
"Even the method of throwing wood into the well—that wasn't the True Cave Great Net Creation. It was a technique to reverse the ley lines' energy inward, disrupting the Absolute Boundary."
"Oh? Finally using that brain of yours."
Chu-so clapped mockingly.
"Maybe in another three hundred years, the Baekri Clan might actually produce descendants who don't just carry their heads as decoration?"
"The main family grew complacent."
The Golden Gate Lord finally understood how Chu-so had located and destroyed every hidden Baekri Side Family stronghold.
"The Copyists maintaining the ley lines were the key."
The Baekri Clan's Absolute Boundary was a secret art built upon the energy of ley lines.
By extending the boundary along the ley lines' flow, they could remain isolated from the world for centuries.
But ley lines were volatile—prone to fluctuations.
Thus, they required overseers—
Copyists, masters who could read celestial and terrestrial signs, stationed outside to manage them.
Chu-so had identified this weakness.
He hunted down every village where these Copyists lived, confirming and annihilating each Side Family branch.
"So."
The Golden Gate Lord asked, voice heavy.
"Is this revenge?"
His expression darkened.
"Against the main family... for attempting to artificially create the Heavenly Mechanism Star?"
Agony twisted his face.
The true mastermind behind the plan to pass down ancient secret arts and knowledge to the Sage Forest—
—to artificially birth the Heavenly Mechanism Star—
—was none other than the Baekri Clan.