Chapter 1106
The earth screamed as it overturned.
Wherever the black spheres fell, the ground collapsed. Trees and rocks shattered like dust scattered by the wind, vanishing into the void.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The black spheres, falling like thunderbolts as they exploded, moved as if alive—colliding with each other, unleashing even greater waves of destruction, tangling together as though they would swallow the entire world.
RUMBLE—
The spheres embedded in the earth refused to dissipate, as if they would only be satisfied once everything had been erased.
Yet within that thick haze of dust, a figure shone vividly. A presence standing tall, as if transcending destruction itself.
It was Baekri Geom-ha.
"Hahaha... HAHAHA!"
After a long bout of mad laughter—
—Snap.
Baekri Geom-ha abruptly stopped laughing, his eyes widening.
Because something unbelievable had happened.
The spheres of death, which had been burning with ferocious intensity, vanished as if they had never existed. The deafening roars that had torn through space were swallowed into perfect silence.
As though everything that had just occurred had been nothing but an illusion.
—Whoosh.
Then, as the dust settled, Pa-myeong reappeared.
"What a racket."
His voice dripped with utter boredom.
Baekri Geom-ha bit his lip.
The destructive force he had poured his entire being into creating—had it really been swept away like mist with just a single gesture from Pa-myeong?
"And you haven't even fully awakened yet."
Pa-myeong watched the dissipating black smoke with an expression so dull it seemed he might yawn at any moment.
"This isn't the true power of the Heavenly Darkness Star."
Then, slowly, he turned his head toward the frozen Baekri Geom-ha and spoke.
"If you've got anything else, show me."
His voice held not a shred of excitement or surprise—only unbearable boredom and arrogance.
Tremble, tremble.
Baekri Geom-ha clenched his fists, his body shaking.
He could not—would not—accept that Pa-myeong's power so thoroughly overwhelmed his own.
KWA-WOONG!
Creating dozens of black spheres the size of fists, he let out a thunderous roar and charged forward.
"SHUT UP!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Closing the distance in an instant, Baekri Geom-ha unleashed the black spheres at point-blank range.
It was an absolute force—impossible to evade or block.
Yet Pa-myeong spread his arms and continuously absorbed the energy in the form of shockwaves before—
KWAANG!
—effortlessly redirecting it all back at Baekri Geom-ha with a single, almost lazy motion.
BOOM! BOOM!
With each exchange of black spheres, the earth split apart, sending plumes of dust into the air.
Though Baekri Geom-ha was the one overwhelmingly attacking, he was the one being relentlessly pushed back.
"UURRGH—!"
Suddenly, Baekri Geom-ha let out a furious roar—
KWAANG!
—and slammed both hands into the ground.
In that instant, the formation sealing off the rocky terrain shattered completely.
KWA-UUUU!
With the chains broken, Baekri Geom-ha activated his Movement Technique and burst out of the rocky zone in a flash.
'Damn it, damn it!'
Baekri Geom-ha gritted his teeth.
He should have counterattacked at full strength the moment he was attacked—just as Bu Eun-seol had suggested.
Instead, his arrogance had cost him. Now, not only had the power of the Heavenly Darkness Star been exposed, but he was being forced into retreat.
"Hahaha."
Pa-myeong watched the direction Baekri Geom-ha had fled with a low chuckle.
"You won't escape."
KWA-AH!
As fissures spread across the ground, Pa-myeong himself became a meteor splitting the heavens—
GOOOO—!
—instantly giving chase to the fleeing Baekri Geom-ha.
Though the Movement Technique Baekri Geom-ha used was formidable...
It still fell short of the speed Bu Eun-seol could originally achieve.
'If I don't shake him off, I'm dead.'
Baekri Geom-ha bit his lip.
To lose Pa-myeong, he would have to unleash Swift Shadowless combined with the Heavenly Light Endless Art—
Meaning he would have to relinquish control of his body.
"Goddamn it!"
Mid-flight, Baekri Geom-ha spun his body in a full rotation.
His pride wasn't worth more than his life.
—Whoosh.
As he turned, his crimson lips rapidly regained their natural color.
He had plunged back into the Abyss of his Spirit and Mind, surrendering his body to Bu Eun-seol.
'Good move!'
Suppressing the urge to curse at Baekri Geom-ha, Bu Eun-seol immediately activated Swift Shadowless.
—Flicker, flash!
A strange light flared in his pupils—
KWAANG!
—and with an explosive sound, he shot forward at a speed more than three times faster than before.
He had instantly drawn upon the Heavenly Light Endless Art.
KWA-UUUNG!
Yet even this wasn't enough to easily shake off Pa-myeong's pursuit.
Baekri Geom-ha had suffered severe internal injuries, preventing his qi from circulating properly.
Moreover, Pa-myeong wasn't merely employing a swift movement technique—it seemed he was utilizing a supernatural Art of Spells.
He was folding space itself as he pursued.
'There's no choice but to hide.'
Zzzing—Pah-pah-pah-pah!
After briefly circling through the air, he spotted a small cave in the distance.
Crack.
Landing on the ground, he set up a defensive formation alongside the most intricate battle formation he could muster.
Then, in one swift motion, he slipped into the cave and activated the Turtle Breath Grand Art, drawing upon Natural Qi.
'No... No.'
Bu Eun-seol shook his head immediately.
Pa-myeong's martial arts were powerful enough to obliterate this entire area in an instant. If he realized Bu Eun-seol's trail had vanished here...
He would raze the surrounding dozens of li to the ground if necessary, just to find and kill him.
—Don't worry.
Suddenly, Pa-myeong's earlier words resurfaced in his mind.
—I don't touch civilians.
There was no way to know if that was true.
'This is a gamble.'
Another of Pa-myeong's remarks floated up in Bu Eun-seol's thoughts.
—If even the slightest trace is erased despite a disguise, there's only one thing in this world capable of it—the Art of Spells from the Sacred Realm.
In the end, that meant...
There was no way to instantly detect the Darkness Secret Arts.
'Then this is the only way.'
Bu Eun-seol unleashed his movement technique at full speed, heading toward Chengdu.
Pa-myeong was chasing him.
Which meant all his senses and awareness were focused on tracking the scattered qi ahead and around him.
Bu Eun-seol intended to exploit this very psychology of pursuit—with a bold maneuver.
'There.'
He spotted a bustling marketplace in the distance and made for it.
Once inside, he instantly activated the Darkness Secret Arts, transforming into an ordinary herb peddler.
Then, instead of fleeing, he calmly turned and walked toward the direction Pa-myeong was coming from.
Would the hunted dare walk straight toward the hunter?
Pa-myeong wouldn't even consider it. He would only be searching for the rapidly retreating qi—minor traces brushing past him would likely be ignored.
KOO-RUNG!
At that moment, a strange explosion echoed from the sky, and a shadow wreathed in flames appeared in the distance.
It was Pa-myeong, disguised as Wi Cheong-un.
Thud. Thud.
Unable to detect Bu Eun-seol's presence, he abandoned extrasensory perception and descended to the ground, inspecting the crowd one by one.
'This is a gamble.'
Bu Eun-seol stole a glance at the approaching Wi Cheong-un before continuing forward, expression blank.
When they passed each other, he must not betray even the slightest awareness of him.
But neither could he completely ignore him.
He had to maintain the demeanor of an utterly ordinary herb gatherer—something seen everywhere.
'Failure means instant death.'
Walking past Pa-myeong's body in such a defenseless state was an extremely dangerous tactic.
But if it succeeded, it was the safest way to shake off pursuit.
Thud. Thud.
Bu Eun-seol forced his gaze downward, fixing it on the dust and the shuffling feet of the crowd.
Meanwhile, Pa-myeong—in Wi Cheong-un's form—wasn't merely walking.
Amidst the sea of people...
He was hunting for that one anomaly, that single presence with the aura of a predator.
His eyes gleamed as if they could pierce through every living thing.
Even the boldest of men would, in such a situation—
—find their heart pounding so violently it might shatter their ribs and burst free.
Yet Bu Eun-seol moved forward with perfect tranquility.
The grime-streaked clothes, the rough hands, the weight of the herb bundle on his back, even the pungent stench of fish wafting from the market stalls—
In these fleeting moments, Bu Eun-seol used every sensation, every detail, to erase his own existence.
Right now, he was nothing more than a weary herb peddler, scraping by day after day.
Ten steps.
Five steps.
Three steps.
As the distance closed, the overwhelming pressure radiating from Pa-myeong stabbed into his skin like shards of ice.
A suffocating weight that made even breathing difficult. Time itself seemed to slow, thick as molasses.
Finally, as the moment of their shoulders brushing past neared, all sound in the world seemed to halt.
Then—
Pa-myeong's gaze wasn't on Bu Eun-seol's face.
It was fixed on the empty air just past his shoulder.
That fleeting glance alone felt like it could freeze even a soul solid.
Bu Eun-seol felt his entire body stiffen.
If he showed even a flicker of hesitation in this instant, it would all be over.
With reflexes sharp as light, he used that very tension to his advantage—
"Hngh."
A low grunt escaped him as he adjusted the bundle on his shoulder with a weary sigh.
He even remembered to faintly furrow his brow, as if weighed down by the herbs.
It wasn't an expression of fear, but a flawless act infused with the weariness of life.
Pa-myeong's gaze shifted back to the front.
Two steps.
One step.
Bu Eun-seol completely passed by Pa-myeong, moving behind him.
The presence of Pa-myeong faded entirely into the distance behind him.
Had Bu Eun-seol been an ordinary person, he would have released the breath he had been holding in a ragged gasp from the depths of his lungs.
But instead, Bu Eun-seol tilted his head curiously and glanced back toward where Pa-myeong was walking.
"Honored guest."
Bu Eun-seol called out in a low voice.
"Were you calling for me?"
Pa-myeong had undoubtedly cast a strange look his way.
If an herb gatherer were to ignore such a gaze, it would mean he was deliberately feigning ignorance.
That was why Bu Eun-seol boldly addressed him.
"No."
Pa-myeong, wearing Wi Cheong-un's face, offered a composed smile.
"It was nothing."
With unhurried steps, he slowly disappeared into the crowd.
Bu Eun-seol felt cold sweat trickling down his spine.
He had finally shaken off Pa-myeong's pursuit.
Drip.
Then, a thick stream of crimson blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Due to the Pa-myeong's attack reflecting Baekri Geom-ha's power back, his body had suffered deep internal injuries.
'Pa-myeong...'
Bu Eun-seol exhaled a deep sigh.
Pa-myeong still hadn't recovered his original body and was manipulating someone else's.
Yet, to display such terrifying power despite that... his true strength must be beyond imagination.
'I will surpass him. I swear it.'
Drip.
Another streak of red blood flowed out.
Thud.
His legs gave out weakly.
The internal injuries sustained when Baekri Geom-ha fought were far too severe.
'I need treatment. Fast.'
Since he had reached the final stretch of the Sixth Layer of the Counter-Polar Internal Art, the technique circulated naturally within him even without deliberate Qi Circulation, healing most internal and external wounds on its own.
But the injuries inflicted by the power of the Heavenly Darkness Star rendered even his formidable internal energy and the miraculous effects of the Heavenly Light Endless Art useless.
'Ugh...'
Bu Eun-seol suppressed a groan.
Even if his limbs were severed, he wouldn't have flinched—yet this pain was beyond description.
'Stay calm. Move slowly.'
Tap.
Despite his hazy consciousness, Bu Eun-seol walked forward steadily.
Then, with the perfectly natural gait of an herb gatherer, he ascended the mountain.
Pa-myeong might still be nearby. He couldn't afford to act rashly.
'Hah... Hah...'
Struggling up the slope, Bu Eun-seol pretended to gather herbs before slipping into a distant cave.
Thump.
Leaning against the cave wall, Bu Eun-seol closed his eyes.
'This isn't just an ordinary internal injury.'
Baekri Geom-ha's power was one that annihilated and erased everything.
The backlash from repelling it had shattered the delicate balance of energy circulating within his body.
Creak.
Instinctively, Bu Eun-seol activated not his usual techniques or the Heavenly Light Endless Art, but the Heavenly Robe Mind Art.
His qi and blood were tangled like a knotted thread.
He could no longer sense the circulation of his true qi, as though he were inhabiting someone else's body.
'If this continues, my body will explode.'
The moment he fully unleashed the Heavenly Robe Mind Art to examine the flow of his energy—
Zzzing.
An incredibly mysterious power suddenly began flowing from his Brain Gate Acupoint.
It felt foreign yet soothing, as if gently caressing every wound in his body.
'It wasn't just malevolent energy after all.'
The force that had seemed to seal his Brain Gate Acupoint had always been oppressive and agonizing.
It felt like a wall blocking his past memories, a curse suppressing his innate power.
But now, with his internal energy in ruins and all his strength running wild like untamed horses, it had become the sole steadfast force protecting him.
Thump.
As the pain gradually faded, Bu Eun-seol's eyelids grew heavy.
And he sank into a deep slumber.
Plink.
How much time had passed?
The sound of water droplets falling in the cave slowly roused Bu Eun-seol back to consciousness.
[You slept quite deeply, but in reality, only about a meal's time has passed.]
At the voice, Bu Eun-seol turned his head.
And there—wasn't Baekri Geom-ha standing before him?
"I didn't call for you."
[I don't know either.]
Baekri Geom-ha frowned in displeasure.
[I just... appeared on my own.]
This was absurd.
To freely communicate with another personality while fully conscious, without even activating the Mind Seizing Secret Art—
Only those who had perfectly mastered the Baekri Clan's Mind Spirit Secret Arts, capable of flawlessly controlling separated personalities, could achieve such a feat.
But why had this phenomenon suddenly occurred?
'Was it because I was exposed to Pa-myeong's power?'
Bu Eun-seol stroked his chin.
'Or was it because I faced such a formidable enemy that I fell into despair?'
At the very least, the one consolation was that he still had control over his body.
[Stop thinking in your head.]
Just then, Baekri Geom-ha spoke irritably.
[I can hear everything anyway.]
"Shut up."
[What did you say?]
Bu Eun-seol replied coldly.
"You, who got cocky, suffered deep internal injuries and fled—what exactly are you so proud of?"
Then he let out a deep sigh.
"If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have just fought him properly from the start."
Truthfully, there had been a secret art capable of defeating Pa-myeong.
The Ink Soul First Form.
If he had used this sword technique passed down by his father—
The sword form that had instantly annihilated the Soul-Demon Magic Energy from Sa-u's body—
He could have shattered Pa-myeong's physical form without fail.
[Don't make me laugh. You called me out because you calculated that you couldn't land the sword form, didn't you?]
No matter how extraordinary a sword technique was, it was useless if it couldn't strike true.
Baekri Geom-ha had already seen through Bu Eun-seol's thoughts.
[You're the one who barely escaped with your life thanks to me, so don't get arrogant. Do you really think your pitiful, worthless body could have withstood Pa-myeong's attacks?]
Bu Eun-seol and Baekri Geom-ha bickered for a long while.
As they hurled accusations at each other, their minds ironically grew clearer, allowing them to assess the situation with cold rationality.
"Fine. To be honest, even in perfect condition, it would've been the same."
In the end, Bu Eun-seol was the first to admit it.
That with his current strength, he couldn't execute the Ink Soul First Form properly.
That he couldn't even defeat Wi Cheong-un, who was merely being controlled by Pa-myeong.
[Same here.]
Baekri Geom-ha spat out the words like he was chewing them.
[With my power still sealed, I can't beat that bastard either.]
"Sealed?"
[Give my body back completely.]
Baekri Geom-ha said.
[If I get my body back, I can use my full power—]
"Nonsense."
Bu Eun-seol cut him off sharply.
"Even if you could unleash a force capable of annihilating the world, it still wouldn't reach him."
Pa-myeong wielded a bizarre power, as if he were drawing in the very energy of heaven and earth with both hands.
Every ounce of force poured into him was absorbed intact through his meridians, either reflected outward or used to strengthen his body—
No matter what kind of power was unleashed, it simply couldn't touch him.
[Normally, absorbing foreign true qi would mean certain death.]
Baekri Geom-ha furrowed his brow.
[I don't understand how he absorbs and deflects force like that.]
For ages, grandmasters of martial arts had ceaselessly attempted to absorb or transform external energy.
But if one forcibly took in another's qi? The conflicting energies would clash, severing meridians and shattering the dantian.
Yet Pa-myeong defied this law—
Like an endless abyss that devoured everything.
Through his spiderweb-like meridians, he either circulated all energy or simply hurled it back.
[And he's doing this with a merchant's body, one he's controlling, no less.]
"Perhaps he isn't absorbing and reflecting force—maybe it never even touches him to begin with."
[Whatever.]
Baekri Geom-ha spoke irritably.
[This is a mess. The world just does whatever the hell it wants.]
Pa-myeong possessed a Great Art that allowed him to instantly take over another's body.
If he wished, he could become anyone, evade any pursuit,
and wield a bizarre martial art that could reverse anything.
[Does it make sense for such absurd power to exist?]
But Bu Eun-seol couldn't fully agree with Baekri Geom-ha's words.
He himself possessed the Darkness Secret Arts—a power beyond common sense.
And Baekri Geom-ha had an absolute force capable of annihilating all supernatural abilities.
Even if they didn't realize it,
the current martial world was teeming with strange powers and secret arts that defied all logic.
"Then there's no choice."
[Then there's no choice.]
As if their minds were in sync, the two looked at each other.
"Let's join forces."
[Let's join forces.]
They spoke simultaneously.
"No stabbing in the back."
[No betrayal.]
Baekri Geom-ha nodded and said,
[Then let's get out of here first.]
"No."
Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
"Pa-myeong is still in this area."
[Why?]
"Because this is where he lost us."
A master like Pa-myeong trusted his own judgment and would never believe he was wrong.
[So, you're saying we should stay here?]
"We need to fully recover our bodies anyway. In the meantime, let's research a method to synchronize our powers."
Bu Eun-seol and Baekri Geom-ha were like oil and water—their personalities could never truly harmonize.
But now, faced with an absolute powerhouse like Pa-myeong, in a situation where a single misstep could mean death—
For the first time, they were willing to combine their strength.
Bu Eun-seol, who pursued the Martial Way with such tenacity that even the Human Demon, Ak Mu-ryeong, had no choice but to surrender, and who had pierced through the mysteries of all martial arts.
Baekri Geom-ha, who harbored the power of the Heavenly Darkness Star—once regarded as a calamity that would bring about the Final Extinction.
If these two were to join forces—
The result could surpass all imagination.