Chapter 1092
Geum Mun-gun let out a sigh.
"The main family merely agreed to the idea that Heavenly Mechanism Star was necessary to end all of this."
The sages of the Sage Forest.
They had vehemently insisted that to sever the endlessly repeating cycle of evil karma, they needed the King of the Sages—one who could restore transcendent wisdom and ancient Secret Arts.
—If he isn't born, then we'll create him.
They sought out hidden figures from the Baekri Side Family and asked for their aid.
The Baekri Clan, which agreed to this, provided all the necessary support so the Sage Forest could artificially create Heavenly Mechanism Star.
"We had no idea the Sage Forest would perform forbidden Great Arts and carry out such cruel experiments."
To artificially bring Heavenly Mechanism Star into existence,
the Sage Forest committed merciless and horrific acts—things no human should ever do.
And this truth.
Only came to light after the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade destroyed the Sage Forest.
By the time the Baekri Clan uncovered the truth,
the woman who had endured the brutal experiments had already drawn her last breath, and the figure meant to become Heavenly Mechanism Star had vanished as well.
"The main family only believed in the Sage Forest's convictions and banner."
"Those Side Family people."
Chu-so clicked his tongue with a pitying expression.
"Are you saying the Baekri Clan only learned the truth too late?"
Geum Mun-gun flinched momentarily at the sheer audacity of those words. Surely he wasn't implying the main family had known and tolerated such atrocities?
"Well, what's the point of interrogating some old fool from the Side Family who knew nothing anyway?"
Chu-so shook his head.
"Forty-some years have passed, yet I've never forgotten that day, not even for a moment."
"The main family searched for you desperately. But they couldn't find you."
"Huhuhu."
Chu-so made a disgusted face.
"You think they were looking to help me? They just wanted to check if any usable pawns had turned up."
"In the end."
Geum Mun-gun sighed.
"Do you resent the main family?"
"Not at all."
Chu-so flashed a sweet smile.
"I'm actually grateful."
He gazed at the corpses of the villagers scattered around them.
"Thanks to them, I became a sage who holds all the world's knowledge in my mind, didn't I?"
"Then why did you slaughter the Side Family's people so cruelly?"
"Because I needed to."
Chu-so narrowed his eyes into crescents.
"The Nine Heavens Radiant Cloud—"
A white flash flickered in Geum Mun-gun's pupils.
Only now did he realize what Chu-so was trying to do.
"This old man has lived long enough."
A divine energy began flowing from Geum Mun-gun's body.
"Now, the only choice is to use my strength to atone for past mistakes."
Sssssss—
Before anyone noticed, the countless fallen villagers around them turned into white smoke and began being absorbed into his body.
Every villager, the entire village itself—
All of it had been an illusion created by Geum Mun-gun's Manifestation Art Energy.
"Every time I see a Phase created by Manifestation Art Energy, it's enough to knock me flat in astonishment. To create something from nothing..."
Chu-so stared into Geum Mun-gun's eyes, now shimmering with white radiance.
"Inside an Absolute Boundary, it's practically a divine ability, isn't it?"
Geum Mun-gun didn't answer further and simply stretched out his hand.
In an instant, Chu-so and his shadows should have vanished.
No—they should have been annihilated.
Yet there Chu-so stood, perfectly unharmed, watching and laughing.
"Did you really think I didn't know why the Side Family's people unfolded their Absolute Boundary within the dragon vein?"
Chu-so raised both hands.
The power of the dragon vein had already fallen entirely into his grasp.
"Unlike the main family's people, the Side Family can only unleash the absolute authority of Manifestation Art Energy within an Absolute Boundary created in the dragon vein."
Geum Mun-gun closed his mouth.
The reason the Baekri Side Family's people never properly intervened in the affairs of the Martial World.
And the reason they unfolded their Absolute Boundary within the dragon vein.
It was because only within the dragon vein could they fully wield the true power of Manifestation Art Energy.
"I see. So that's how it is."
Geum Mun-gun slowly raised both hands.
"Then I'll just have to kill you myself."
BOOM!
With a deafening blast, Geum Mun-gun closed the distance in an instant, appearing right before Chu-so.
And with all his strength, he drove a hand strike straight toward Chu-so's forehead.
Just as it was about to pierce through without giving him a chance to dodge—
Schhk—
From behind Chu-so, who stood there calmly,
a black shadow suddenly stretched out its hand and seized Geum Mun-gun's strike.
The remaining Bloodline Shatterers had predicted his attack and caught his hand.
"You thought you could win just by unleashing your Martial Arts, didn't you?"
Chu-so spoke while staring at Geum Mun-gun's fingernail, now mere inches from his pupil.
"After all, the dragon vein is already in my grasp."
Crack. Crack. Crack.
Bone-chilling sounds emanated from Geum Mun-gun's captured hand, gripped by the Bloodline Shatterer.
Ssshk—
In response, Geum Mun-gun closed the distance and kicked Chu-so in the chest like a whirlwind—a fierce execution of "Flood Dragon Emerges from the Abyss."
BOOM!
The Bloodline Shatterer that took the blow to its chest was forced back six steps.
In that brief opening, Geum Mun-gun swung at Chu-so's neck.
Schhk—
This time, another Bloodline Shatterer caught his hand.
Geum Mun-gun tried to kick the Bloodline Shatterer away, but—
Rumble—
Five more Bloodline Shatterers rushed in and began attacking him.
Ssshk— Pak! Pak! Pak!
Geum Mun-gun's Fist Technique alternated between bursts of speed and slowness as he blocked the Bloodline Shatterers' assaults.
His Fist Technique was supremely disciplined.
As if hundreds of Masters were executing the same movements simultaneously, its power was overwhelming, and mysterious afterimages spread outward.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Even without Manifestation Art Energy, Geum Mun-gun's Martial Arts far surpassed the current standards of the Martial World.
The qi flowing through his body
formed a solid Protective Astral Energy that completely shielded him from the Bloodline Shatterers' attacks.
With unfathomable martial arts, he continuously drove the Bloodline Shatterers back.
"As expected, there is no equal to you in martial arts."
Golden Gate Lord, effortlessly repelling the oncoming Bloodline Shatterers, spoke in a low voice.
"I will soon make you pay the price you deserve."
"How strange."
Chu-so, watching the scene, smiled cruelly.
"If people invade, one must consider why they came—think deeply about their motives."
"......"
"And yet, for all their vaunted lineage as descendants of the Baekri Clan, they just fight recklessly, thrilled that their attacks land."
Chu-so clicked his tongue.
"Have you already forgotten the lesson that one must use their head?"
Boom! Boom!
Meanwhile, the Bloodline Shatterers' martial techniques shifted, piercing through Golden Gate Lord's qi flow and landing their fist techniques.
Swish—
Golden Gate Lord's movements alternated between fast and slow as he struck back,
but he could no longer suppress them.
"Through this old man..."
Golden Gate Lord's eyes widened.
At last, he realized Chu-so's true objective.
"You were stealing martial arts."
"Correct."
Chu-so smiled sweetly.
"That is one of the Bloodline Shatterers' abilities."
Twelve Guests.
The terrifying army Chu-so was nurturing was modeled after the world's most supreme martial experts.
But comprehensively mastering and recording the martial arts of the martial world's strongest was practically impossible.
So, using the Bloodline Shatterers,
he meticulously recorded the martial techniques, qi flow, and lifelong training achievements of these masters.
This time, by ambushing the Baekri Side Family's experts, he studied their transcendent martial arts,
learning their combat methods and the Principles of Martial Arts to complete the Twelve Guests.
"To perfect the Twelve Guests, I must gather every possible combat scenario and variable, stacking them one by one."
Heavenly Mechanism Star smiled contentedly.
"However, engraving martial arts into the Bloodline Shatterers' bodies requires my personal involvement."
The reason he personally took such risks to kill the Baekri Side Family's experts
was because he had to oversee the absorption and recording of their martial arts through the Bloodline Shatterers.
Tremble—
Golden Gate Lord's eyelids twitched.
Not only did he know the Side Family's traits and use ley lines to restrict Manifestation Art Energy,
but he had also been slaughtering the Baekri Side Family's members to create monsters embodying all their characteristics?
Even more terrifying was the possibility that every word from his mouth might not be the truth.
"Are you ready to die now?"
Chu-so flicked his tongue.
"I'll let you taste every suffering this world has to offer. You can look forward to it."
Until now, he had subjected the Baekri Side Family members who were disguised as Copyists
to unspeakable torture before their final breaths.
Heh heh heh—
Golden Gate Lord burst into laughter, as if realizing something.
Ha ha ha.
"What's so funny?"
"You keep attaching reason after reason, but in the end, it all boils down to one thing."
Golden Gate Lord smirked.
"You hate and seek revenge against the main family's descendants who supported the Sage Forest."
"You keep trying to paint me as some petty person."
Chu-so shook his head.
"Do you think someone like me would be swayed by such trivial emotions...?"
"Admit what must be admitted."
Golden Gate Lord snorted.
"You, too, are just another ghost shackled by the main family's curse."
He couldn't finish his words.
Thud.
Chu-so's slender arm had already pierced his chest.
"With not even a single complete personality to your name, yet you keep yapping about the main family, the main family..."
Chu-so whispered into Golden Gate Lord's ear.
"If I tear out your heart right away, you won't suffer long."
Squelch—
As his fingers tightened inside Golden Gate Lord's abdomen, blood spilled from the man's eyes.
Deliberately rupturing organs one by one, he intended to make him endure excruciating pain until his last breath.
"You have much to look forward to. I'll hunt down every ley line, root out every last member of the Side Family, and kill them... And after that—"
Just as Chu-so's crimson lips pronounced doom,
Ziiing—
A strange energy spread in all directions, and the surrounding scenery began melting away like dissolving ink.
Golden Gate Lord, arms outstretched into the void,
poured his last strength into releasing the Absolute Boundary.
"Must you?"
Chu-so sneered.
"You don't actually believe those villagers can save you, do you?"
"You still have a long way to go."
Golden Gate Lord chuckled lowly.
"You may be clever, but you've never truly cultivated proper martial arts yourself."
CRACK!
As the Absolute Boundary lifted, multicolored clouds suddenly streaked down from the distant sky like lightning,
Whoosh—
Crashing meteor-like into the ground, a figure gradually emerged from the dust.
His features were utterly plain, but an effortless majesty radiated from his entire being.
It was Bu Eun-seol, disguised as Seol-so.
'This is bad.'
Without even glancing at Chu-so, Bu Eun-seol approached Golden Gate Lord and examined his condition.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm already finished."
Golden Gate Lord gazed at Bu Eun-seol with fading eyes.
Then, noticing the light in his irises, he nodded slowly.
"...As expected, you possess his power."
Staring into the mysterious glow lingering in Bu Eun-seol's pupils, he spoke with a relieved expression.
"I could sense your energy even outside the Absolute Boundary."
Golden Gate Lord sent a Voice Transmission to Bu Eun-seol.
[The essence of Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism—the energy of Primordial Chaos Subtle Qi.]
Astonishingly, he had detected the presence of Primordial Chaos Subtle Qi—something even Bu Eun-seol himself had not been aware of.
He gave a faint smile.
[If one could combine the Nothingness Sect's Heaven-Transcending Secret Art with the Four Divine Weapons... they would wield invincible power.]
Gurgle—
Golden Gate Lord coughed up blood and spoke in a low voice as he gazed into Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
"Please... eradicate that wicked fiend."
Thud.
With an expression free of regret, he breathed his last.
Bu Eun-seol's eyes widened.
How could that old man have possibly sensed the Primordial Chaos Secret Qi?
"Seems we've caught a big fish," Chu-so remarked, nodding at Bu Eun-seol without sparing a glance for Golden Gate Lord's corpse.
"Martial Soul Society Leader... Seol-so."
"Heavenly Mechanism Star."
Bu Eun-seol turned, unable to conceal his fury as he shouted:
"You, who call yourself the King of the Sages, overseeing all knowledge under heaven—why do you bring chaos to this world?"
"Ah, the Supreme Martial Lord has arrived," Chu-so clicked his tongue. "Lately, the Martial Soul Society has been spreading its influence far and wide. Did you grow curious enough to meddle in every little affair?"
His tone turned mocking. "The fact that you tracked me here means the Society doesn't just monitor the martial world's movements—you're keeping tabs on even the most trivial civilian matters too, aren't you?"
True to his title, Heavenly Mechanism Star instantly deduced how Bu Eun-seol had found him.
"To plant informants across the Central Plains like the Beggars' Sect... That's impossible even with the Wanderers' Market's intelligence network."
Chu-so tilted his head, then smiled knowingly. "As I thought—you're someone with a double identity, aren't you?"
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
"You seem flustered."
"Do you always probe people this way?"
Bu Eun-seol, his appearance completely altered by the Black Darkness Secret Arts, no longer bore any resemblance to the Martial Soul Lord. Instead, he exuded the commanding presence of a leader from the Between the Orthodox and Unorthodox alliance.
"Rather disappointing for someone calling himself the King of the Sages."
Truthfully, appearing here as the Martial Soul Society Leader was itself an act that leaked significant clues to Heavenly Mechanism Star. But Bu Eun-seol had already anticipated this. And he wasn't worried in the slightest—he'd prepared a scenario that would utterly dismantle Heavenly Mechanism Star's suspicions.
Sssssk—
The sound of countless insects swarming echoed from somewhere, and soon hundreds of shadows began forming in the sky.
Whoosh, whoosh—
One by one, they descended—pale giants with pupil-less white eyes. Their limbs were embedded with wood and stone, each with grotesquely varied features.
Yin-Killing Soul-Transferring Men.
The perfected form of an ancient monster long thought lost—the ability to assemble combat puppets from inanimate objects.
Fwoom!
A gale erupted before the artificial warriors as a youth wielding a white jade fan materialized.
Han Sang-ja.
"So it was the Sage Forest's Yin-Killing Soul-Transferring Men," Chu-so nodded as if finally understanding. "Just like how the Martial Soul Lord thwarted my plans with Extinction Palace before... You're the one who's been interfering with my schemes all along."
He'd pieced it together—how the Martial Soul Lord had crushed his Extinction Palace conspiracy, how the Martial Soul Society Leader could pursue him now—all thanks to this young sage before him.
"Fascinating. A remnant of the ruined Sage Forest actually has connections spanning both the Demon Hall and the Between the Orthodox and Unorthodox leadership?"
"You weave your webs across factions—did you think I couldn't do the same?" Han Sang-ja's voice burned with fury. "I'd shake hands with the Demon himself if it meant killing you!"
"Ah, Sage Forest folk... That pathetic disposition never changes." Chu-so sighed while staring at Han Sang-ja, then shook his head. "If you barely escaped with your life, why not hide in some rural village as a schoolteacher? Why step back into this ruthless martial world?"
"Our ancestors committed atrocities, but annihilation was punishment enough." Han Sang-ja's expression twisted with grief. "I hunt you to avenge my fellow disciples!"
"You speak too lightly." Chu-so's voice turned insidious, needling at Han Sang-ja's conscience. "Do you even know what sins the Sage Forest truly committed?"
His face contorted with anguish. "They slit open mothers' bellies before their children to harvest the byproducts within. Countless women and children were captured and brutally slaughtered—all in the name of saving the world."
Emotions overwhelming him, Chu-so's eyes glistened with tears. "And yet you dare call yourself their descendant? How can you speak of avenging fellow disciples?"
Silence fell.
Could one seek vengeance for fellow disciples when their ancestors had committed such horrors?
"The sins of our forebears belong to them alone. If I'm guilty, I'll bear that punishment." After a long pause, Han Sang-ja stood tall. "And your Mind Seizing Secret Art won't work on me."
"Oh? It's not working." Chu-so, who'd seemed on the verge of weeping moments ago, smacked his lips and flashed a mischievous grin. "Impressive. Even my Demon Essence Seductive Laughter failed."
He'd deliberately erupted with emotion to manipulate Han Sang-ja's Spirit and Mind, trying to crush him with despair.
"Ah well, no matter." Chu-so shrugged. "I've achieved my goal—now I know who's targeting me."
"Were you curious?"
"Of course!" Chu-so laughed. "Clues and traces erased so thoroughly that even the greatest intelligence networks couldn't follow them."
His sharp gaze swept over Bu Eun-seol and Han Sang-ja. "Someone who knows of the Baekri Clan and the Absolute Boundary... Someone with perfect understanding of the martial world's deepest undercurrents."
Chu-so nodded his head.
"To think that person was a mere remnant of the Sage Forest? How invaluable is this information?"
"Did you appear in person just for that?"
At Bu Eun-seol's words, Chu-so shrugged his shoulders.
"Why not?"
"Then I suppose you also know you'll die here."
Despite the deadly declaration, Chu-so instead let out a stifled laugh.
"Martial Soul Society Leader, you should consider yourself fortunate."
"......"
"Thanks to keeping company with that young sage, you're about to obtain information you couldn't buy even with ten million gold pieces."
"Information?"
"The world still holds many undisclosed secrets. And those secrets are like precious information—treasures beyond measure. Someone like you should understand that well, no?"
Chu-so spread both hands with an exaggerated smile.
"No need to be tense. I'm merely offering to share knowledge that money couldn't buy."
The eyes of Bu Eun-seol and Han Sang-ja narrowed.
They had already surmised that all of this was the Heavenly Mechanism Star's bait.
A figure like the Heavenly Mechanism Star...
Had no need to personally take command, risking exposure while sidelining capable subordinates.
Though they had prepared for every contingency regarding him, now he was offering information?
"Even those who know much of the martial world become fixated on the colossal existences of the Baekri Clan and the True Demon..."
Bu Eun-seol gathered his Internal Power.
Originally, he had intended to attack regardless of what Chu-so said.
With a three-inch tongue, this man could steal souls and weave intricate schemes in mere moments.
"...Yet they don't regard the truths of the Jungson Clan and Yang Seol's faction as particularly significant."
But the following words made him halt his movements.
Chu-so bared his white teeth in a grin.
"How about a tale concerning the Jungson Clan and Yang Seol's faction?"
Information about them, concealed behind thicker veils than even the Baekri Clan's?
It was impossible not to listen.
"What do you say? Care to hear me out?"
Han Sang-ja's eyes flashed as he spoke.
"Abandon any thought of escape."
"Escape? Why would I?"
The Heavenly Mechanism Star sneered.
"Even if there were thousands of Yin-Killing Soul-Transferring Men, they couldn't stop me."
Then he scoffed.
"I was merely curious about who might pursue the Heavenly Slaughter Star with the Demon Eye Pearl."
Chu-so leaned close to Han Sang-ja, bringing his face near.
"If you'd rather not listen, we can stop here. The loss is yours anyway."
An utterly infuriating act.
Han Sang-ja suppressed the urge to draw the dagger at his waist and sever Chu-so's throat.
"Fine."
He exhaled coldly.
"Withdraw those troops first."
"Let me return the favor."
Whoosh.
As Han Sang-ja raised two fingers skyward, the Yin-Killing Soul-Transferring Men instantly scattered across the ground.
Being inorganic constructs, they could be summoned from nature at will—
And dispersed anywhere.
"Such an obedient child."
Chu-so snorted and jerked his chin.
In an instant, the Bloodline Shatterers too dissolved into the air.
"Now that you're ready to listen, shall we begin?"
Chu-so's voice lowered.
"I guarantee this will be fascinating. To speak of Yang Seol's faction and the Jungson Clan... we must first discuss the True Demon and the Sacred Realm."
Bu Eun-seol and Han Sang-ja's eyes flashed. This was a tale they couldn't possibly ignore.
"The Baekri Clan fought the True Demon for generations. Though their battles are said to have been fierce, that isn't entirely accurate."
Chu-so alternated his gaze between them.
"Strictly speaking, no matter how desperately the Baekri Clan struggled, they could never truly oppose the True Demon."
His lips curled.
"So they agonized. How could they suppress the True Demon's power? How could they restrain his might?"
Chu-so, who had been gazing at the distant sky, spoke softly.
"In the end, they chose not to suppress or block his power—but to create a living prison."
"Are you referring to the Seven Great Demon Ancestors and the Ten Great Immortals?"
At Han Sang-ja's words, Chu-so snorted.
"They did possess fragments of authority. But that wasn't the True Demon's—nor the Baekri Clan's—genuine power."
An abstract statement, impossible to grasp at once.
As the two frowned, Chu-so continued.
"Consider this—how does one restrain a being who transcends the Laws through endless reincarnations?"
His expression relaxed as he elaborated.
"Conversely, the True Demon too sought ways to control the Baekri Clan's meddlesome power. The result was a sacred prison infused with both forces' might."
—The Sacred Realm?
The same term surfaced simultaneously in Bu Eun-seol and Han Sang-ja's minds.
As if sensing this, Chu-so smiled.
"Correct. Thus was the Sacred Realm born."
Then he delivered the shock.
"In that process, Yang Seol's faction became the prison's illegitimate child, while the Jungson Clan became the foolish brat craving fusion between the two powers."
Bu Eun-seol and Han Sang-ja stared at each other, eyes wide.
Yang Seol's faction—bastards of the Sacred Realm.
The Jungson Clan—children foolishly seeking to merge the Baekri Clan and True Demon's powers?
Meaning Yang Seol's faction comprised those who separated from the Sacred Realm—
While the Jungson Clan became another specter chasing the fusion of both forces.
Suddenly, Bu Eun-seol's eyes sharpened.
'He's stalling.'
He had discerned that Chu-so was deliberately using ambiguous expressions to buy time.
"My, my. To scheme even while hearing such crucial information—how pathetic."
Chu-so wore a disappointed expression watching Bu Eun-seol.
"Don't you know lengthy digressions during important tales heighten focus?"
Then he continued nonchalantly.
"Yang Seol's faction sought to become another Sacred Realm, while the Jungson Clan hunted the One Hundred and Eight Stars for experiments to achieve perfect fusion..."
Crash!
A sudden surge of authority, tinged with a blinding radiance, came pouring down toward Chu-so's face.
Bu Eun-seol, who had been silently listening in search of any useful information, abruptly struck like lightning—unleashing the Heavenly Light Seven Forms.