Chapter 1107
Baekri Geom-ha spoke with an utterly solemn expression.
[There exists something called Flower Garland Unity.]
It was a martial doctrine passed down by Baekri Mu-ha in the past—a method pursuing the complete unification of mind and body.
Baekri Geom-ha calmly explained it to Bu Eun-seol.
[It shares similarities with the secret of Transcendent Unity, often mentioned in the Mind Spirit Secret Arts.]
It was an extremely profound and mysterious mental cultivation art—one that forcibly crammed two opposing consciousnesses, polar opposites, into a single vessel.
And converted the very conflict between them into power.
"I've never attempted it before."
[That's right.]
Baekri Geom-ha readily admitted.
[Because this is an attempt akin to gambling.]
He continued his explanation.
[Moreover, it can only be activated when both personalities perfectly agree and share a common goal.]
"If either side hesitates or distrusts the other, the internal energy will reverse flow, plunging them into Qi Deviation and self-destruction."
[Correct.]
Then, he elaborated on the doctrine.
[Extreme Yang represents order, while Extreme Yin signifies chaos.]
"Hmm."
[By colliding Yin-Yang Dual Qi within the dantian to suppress chaos... the power and personalities merge in an amplified form.]
"So, this was taught to you by your father."
Suddenly, Bu Eun-seol felt envious of Baekri Geom-ha.
His own memories of his parents existed only in the briefest fragments.
Yet Baekri Geom-ha possessed not only the martial doctrines his parents had taught him but also monopolized the memories of having been with them.
[What a joke. My memories only go back to the Saha Manor era.]
Baekri Geom-ha spoke coldly.
[But haven't you been loved by Bu Jan-yang for long, long years?]
Bu Eun-seol wore a bitter expression.
In the end, he lived on through memories of his grandfather.
While Baekri Geom-ha lived on through memories of his parents.
"Can't you share those memories with me?"
Bu Eun-seol asked.
"After all, you and I aren't so different."
[Stop spouting nonsense.]
Baekri Geom-ha refused harshly.
[You may believe you're the real one, but from my perspective, you're the fake.]
Baekri Geom-ha seemed guarded, as though something catastrophic would happen if Bu Eun-seol ever learned the memories he held.
Which meant...
Baekri Geom-ha clearly knew something he himself was unaware of.
[Even if we complete this doctrine, the unified state will last at most a meal's time. Normally, it can endure for a quarter of an hour.]
"And beyond that?"
[If pushed further, the boundary between the two personalities will collapse, turning us into a raving lunatic—neither one nor the other.]
"Fine. Let's try it."
Taking a deep breath, Bu Eun-seol began reciting the doctrine Baekri Geom-ha had taught him.
Pa-myeong was still somewhere in this area.
If they were discovered before achieving unity, they could be killed outright.
They had to unify as quickly as possible.
Crrrrack—
As splitting pain tore through his skull, Bu Eun-seol's body gradually began to swell.
The so-called "unification of personalities" was, in truth, an abstract expression.
In martial terms, it meant forcibly aligning two inherently opposing qi energies onto the same path.
It was like forcibly layering completely different melodies onto a single sheet of music.
If momentary harmony was achieved, it could unleash earth-shaking power—but the instant balance was lost, it would spiral into catastrophe.
Kukukuku—!
The collision of the two energies erupting from his dantian transformed into violent shockwaves, rippling outward in all directions.
The earth roared like a living beast, splitting apart as rocks began raining from the cave ceiling.
"Ugh—!"
His body felt like it was about to burst.
Forcing two incompatible origins—like water and oil—into a single vessel caused his entire body to scream in protest, swelling as if it would tear apart from the violent recoil.
Beneath his skin, a horrifying sensation crawled—like tens of thousands of insects squirming through his veins—while wave after wave of agony crashed over him, as though every joint in his bones was being shattered and reassembled.
"Something... is wrong."
Sssssk—!
His pitch-black hair lost its color from the roots in an instant, transforming into a cold, moonlit silver that cascaded down to his waist.
His once-dark, deep pupils burned away into a hollow, ghostly white—as though his very soul had evaporated into emptiness.
At this rate, his flesh would inevitably be shattered in the raging torrent of this berserk power.
KWA—AAAAAANG!
Finally, a massive explosion erupted from his dantian.
Simultaneously, Bu Eun-seol's body was launched skyward like a dazzling firework streaking across the night sky.
The solid cave walls tore apart like paper as his figure, trailing a crimson arc, soared into the distant heavens.
KWAOOO—!
The air compressed around his body—again and again—until finally surpassing its limit...
SHWIIIIIK—!
With a sound as though the heavens were being torn apart, a transparent shockwave engulfed his body.
The impact was so tremendous that all his senses seemed to sink into darkness.
How much time had passed?
The sound of a whirlwind sweeping across sand echoed in his ears.
Bu Eun-seol hastily opened his eyes and sat up—
"......!"
Under the moonlight, endless golden sand dunes stretched before him.
"Jade Gate Pass?"
It was the desert where he had once briefly encountered Heuk-pyo.
He had only lost consciousness for a moment, yet—
He had been flung thousands of li, from Jinan all the way to the entrance of the Western Regions.
Crack.
Moreover, the backlash from his failed attempt at Transcendent Unity sent waves of excruciating pain through his body, as though his entire being were on the verge of crumbling.
"Baekri Geom-ha."
Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
"So you tampered with the ritual scripture to steal my body after all."
Though young, he had reached the status of a grandmaster capable of independently devising martial scriptures.
Had Transcendent Unity simply failed, his spirit and mind would have been damaged—but not to the point of causing such an absurd phenomenon.
Only now, as he carefully analyzed the scripture Baekri Geom-ha had provided, did he realize that it had been altered to facilitate a body-snatching attempt.
"You deliberately omitted the crucial passages so I wouldn't grasp the essence of the technique."
Baekri Geom-ha had triggered an explosion within his spirit and mind, attempting to shove Bu Eun-seol's consciousness into the abyss.
But his mental defenses were harder than diamond, and the resulting backlash had wreaked havoc on his physical form instead.
"I told you not to stab me in the back."
[It wasn't a stab in the back—it was a scripture to make me whole again!]
Baekri Geom-ha spoke shamelessly.
[Do you think I lost to that bastard? Don't make me laugh. I was just using crude power while not fully unified with this body—that's all.]
There was truth to that.
Hadn't Bu Eun-seol immediately realized that Pa-myeong, too, had failed to fully manifest the power of the Heavenly Darkness Star?
If Baekri Geom-ha had been able to wield his strength perfectly, the outcome of his battle with Pa-myeong would have been impossible to predict.
"No. Even if you achieved spiritual unity, you still couldn't defeat Pa-myeong."
Bu Eun-seol spoke decisively.
"I said that because I knew it for certain."
[That's just your opinion.]
"Fine."
Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
"My offer to combine our strength is revoked. I'll handle this matter myself."
[Hmph, do as you please.]
Baekri Geom-ha didn't disappear, but he turned away.
That alone erected an insurmountable wall between them.
Bu Eun-seol returned to the Demon Hall.
Though he had relentlessly worked to heal his internal injuries—
Whether it was due to the backlash from the transcendent power of the Heavenly Darkness Star or the lingering influence of Pa-myeong's strength—
He had not fully recovered.
He had taken spirit medicines to mend his wounds and even had the Medicine King Faction's master examine his pulse, yet—
Like a stubborn illness, his body refused to fully heal, and no one could determine why.
—Convene the Lord's Meeting.
But there was something more urgent than his recovery.
Pa-myeong.
Now that he had become the target of such a transcendent master, he needed to devise countermeasures immediately.
—The meeting begins.
Bu Eun-seol summoned all the lords of the Death Shadow War Unit and commenced the assembly.
After hearing the full explanation, the lords struggled to process the shock.
Pa-myeong.
One of the True Demon's attendants—
Had possessed the body of Wi Cheong-un, the head of the Ten Thousand Gold Merchant Group, and was now freely roaming the world?
"If that's the case, couldn't he also seize the Emperor's body?"
Wi Cheon-gyeong asked with an expression of disbelief.
If he could control people without lifting a finger—wasn't he practically a transcendent being on par with the True Demon?
"No."
Yu Un-ryong, who had been stroking his chin in deep thought, shook his head.
"That's impossible."
He spoke with conviction.
"The imperial family has trained for generations to prevent such a scenario. No grand art or Mind Seizing Secret Art from the martial world can breach their defenses."
He continued his explanation.
"Moreover, generals trained in the secret arts of the Imperial Palace Martial Repository guard the Emperor at all times."
The imperial family possessed esoteric spell arts to repel evil spiritual intrusions—
But above all, the Dragon Qi possessed by the Emperor and those of his bloodline served as the strongest barrier.
"If he recklessly attempts to seize a body, he risks suffering a backlash that could annihilate his spirit. And if he fails? Every last one of his blood relatives and affiliated factions would be exterminated—beyond the nine familial generations. The risk is far too great."
The lords' eyes widened.
The fact that such secret arts existed within the imperial family was knowledge completely unknown to ordinary martial artists.
"Such a thing exists?"
When Jo Nam-cheon asked in astonishment, Yu Un-ryong nodded.
"That's also why the principle of 'mutual non-interference' exists in the first place. It's nearly impossible for either side to encroach upon the other."
He looked at Bu Eun-seol and said,
"These days, it's often said that the martial arts of the murim have surpassed the Imperial Palace Secret Arts. But if you look at the long history of the martial world, the two have always been evenly matched."
It was an obvious statement.
The world operated on the principle of survival of the fittest.
Had the Imperial Palace possessed the power to control the murim? The unwritten rule of "non-interference between court and martial world" would never have been established in the first place.
It was precisely because the two sides were evenly matched—because a clash would likely result in mutual destruction—that they refrained from crossing each other beyond a certain line.
"Then, the fact that Pa-myeong deliberately took control of Wi Cheong-un's body must mean it met some specific condition."
At Myo Cheon-u's words, the Chiefs nodded in agreement.
If Pa-myeong had been able to freely possess any human body at will?
There would have been no need to seize the body of someone like the chief manager of the Ten Thousand Gold Merchant Group for so long—he would have simply taken control of whoever was most useful at any given moment.
"A specific condition."
Bu Eun-seol, who had been listening silently, narrowed his eyes.
Come to think of it, even the Sa Hall Master had a weak constitution.
Sa-u, the secret hall master of Langya Pavilion, had suffered severe physical damage in his youth, leaving his body underdeveloped.
But after being possessed by Pa-myeong, he gained the perfect physique of a martial artist.
Perhaps Wi Cheong-un, too, had been in poor health.
Those who had been possessed by Pa-myeong might have been afflicted with incurable illnesses or maladies—just like Sa-u.
This is something we can confirm with investigation.
Having finished his thoughts, Bu Eun-seol spoke.
"The problem is that he has openly revealed himself and declared that if he cannot kill me... he will twist the power of fate and slaughter all of you instead."
His expression darkened as he swept his gaze over those gathered.
To threaten those around him was, in the end, a way to force his true target to come to him.
If his words were true?
Bu Eun-seol would have to seek him out and settle the matter himself—before those around him came to harm.
"Even if he said that, it won't be so easy."
At that moment, Jo Nam-cheon thumped his chest and declared,
"No matter how strong the opponent, no one in the world would dare lay a hand on us recklessly."
The Chiefs nodded again.
It wasn't baseless arrogance.
Even before the emergence of the Oathbound, Bu Eun-seol had ensured that no superlative martial expert—no matter how powerful—could easily touch the members of the Death Shadow War Unit.
He had relentlessly trained them and prepared safety measures.
And the sturdiness of the ancient secret art, the Mind's Eye Mirror, surpassed the limits of modern martial arts.
Even a master of the Martial Extreme Realm would find it impossible to recklessly assault the Death Shadow War Unit.
"His attack may not be direct."
Taking a deep breath, Bu Eun-seol said,
"But I trust you will be able to withstand it."
He looked around the room.
"Starting today, I will enter seclusion."
A fierce light burned in Bu Eun-seol's eyes as he gazed at the Chiefs.
"Hold out—no matter what happens—until I return."
—As you command.
The Chiefs all bowed solemnly.
The truth was, Pa-myeong was a superlative martial expert whom Bu Eun-seol could not possibly defeat in a short time.
Yet the Chiefs nodded without a shred of doubt, their faces filled with unwavering trust.
—The Lord will succeed.
He had always kept his word. He had always accomplished what seemed like miracles.
As long as they endured—no matter how long it took—he would surely bring Pa-myeong down.
Slipping out of the Demon Hall in secret, Bu Eun-seol entered seclusion.
The Realm of No Souls, the Absolute Domain.
A place where none could enter unless they resonated with Bu Eun-seol's own energy.
Here, in the most hidden and secure space in the world, he would train in isolation.
As I am now, I have no chance of defeating Pa-myeong.
The only glimmer of hope was this:
Wi Cheong-un was not Pa-myeong's true body—merely a puppet under his control.
Moreover, his real body was injured and bound by some kind of Restrictive Seal, preventing him from revealing himself in the martial world.
If Pa-myeong had been completely unconstrained—if he could slaughter martial artists and civilians alike without mercy?
The Demon Hall—no, the entire murim—would have already crumbled under his grasp.
But...
As he continued his seated meditation, a strange question suddenly arose in Bu Eun-seol's mind.
If they are the Servants of the True Demon... wouldn't that Restrictive Seal have been created by the True Demon itself?
In truth, even excluding the Three Attendants...
With just the Four Divine Heavens and the Eight Heavenly Servants, they could have formed a coalition powerful enough to rival the Martial Alliance and the Demon Hall.
Yet all of the True Demon's servants...
Had been bound by some kind of Restrictive Seal, unable to reveal themselves in the martial world or cooperate with one another.
As a result, most of them—aside from the Three Attendants—had been effectively annihilated by Bu Eun-seol.
Why?
Why would the True Demon, possessing such overwhelmingly powerful servants, deliberately bring about its own ruin?
—The True Demon wanted its servants to devour each other.
It was something the Old Man of the Sanctuary, who had once overseen the Covenant, had said.
'But this is strange.'
Even if the True Demon could recreate his vassals at any time—
The time and cost required to nurture martial experts powerful enough to dominate the Martial World were enormous.
And yet, why did the True Demon not care for their safety?
Why did he not regret the deaths of his subordinates, who had accumulated experience over a long time?
'What's even stranger are the so-called bloodline descendants of the True Demon.'
The True Demon had existed endlessly alongside the history of the Martial World.
Meaning, he could have used his bloodline to amass immense power and influence—even ascending to the throne as Emperor.
But in the end, he abandoned everything and vanished.
Because of that, even the Three Attendants, who had sworn loyalty across generations, were left with room to betray him.
A being of his caliber couldn't possibly have failed to consider this.
'These thoughts can wait for later.'
Right now, he needed to focus on how to break Pa-myeong.
Bu Eun-seol closed his eyes.
'First, I must find the key to shattering Pa-myeong's power.'
Inside the lightless, airless chamber, an oppressive pressure surged forth, thick enough to suffocate.
His consciousness relentlessly replayed the previous battle.
He couldn't suddenly enhance his martial arts in a short time.
But understanding how Pa-myeong deflected every attack and counterattacked in the gaps—
Unraveling the principles behind his techniques wasn't impossible.
'If I can just grasp the method behind his reversal of all things... I can defeat him.'
Bu Eun-seol hadn't poured everything into his fight against Pa-myeong.
Specifically, he had deliberately hidden the Ink Soul First Form—the power that had saved Sa-u from Pa-myeong's corruption, the Absolute Sword Art rooted in the Way of Nature.
'If I had used it, I would have failed.'
Wi Cheong-un's body had been in perfect sync with Pa-myeong's power,
rendering him untouchable by any attack.
But what if he could land the Ink Soul First Form?
Then he could absolutely defeat him.
'Unless it's the perfect moment, I must never use it.'
The Ink Soul First Form was the only martial art capable of opposing Pa-myeong—his hidden, decisive technique.
If this art were clumsily exposed, not only would his identity be discovered, but his last chance to defeat him would vanish.
Bang! Crash!
Bu Eun-seol endlessly recreated the moment he had fought Pa-myeong in his mind.
Gradually, the sensations and memories of Baekri Geom-ha's battle with Pa-myeong also began to surface.
'Is this even possible...?'
The sensations he was feeling now—
They weren't from an outside perspective, but Baekri Geom-ha's own movements and experiences.
'Don't tell me...'
Only the essential secrets had been omitted.
The scripture Baekri Geom-ha had passed down wasn't entirely useless.
Through the scripture's function, the faintest impressions of what Baekri Geom-ha had felt during his battle with Pa-myeong were being transmitted.
'Then...'
If he could naturally become one with Baekri Geom-ha—he would gain power beyond imagination.
"But if that really happens—"
Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
Would the unified self still be called Bu Eun-seol?
Just as Baek Mu-seong, after achieving Transcendent Unity, could no longer be called the Baek Mu-seong of the past—
Would he become someone else forever?
'No. Right now, I must do whatever it takes.'
Pa-myeong was controlling Wi Cheong-un—the head of the Ten Great Merchant Houses, considered the wealthiest in the Central Plains.
Even without using his fate-defying power, he could mobilize that immense wealth and connections to threaten the Death Shadow War Unit.
He had to find a way to break him as soon as possible.
"Using Baekri Geom-ha's scripture..."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed.
"I will achieve Transcendent Unity alone."
Through Pa-myeong, it had been proven that Baekri Geom-ha's personality held the immense power of the Heavenly Darkness Star.
But absorbing that power—
Unifying with Baekri Geom-ha, a personality that acted on its own whims, was nearly impossible.
Instead, Bu Eun-seol intended to use the incomplete scripture Baekri Geom-ha had taught him (with the crucial secrets removed)
to draw out the power of the Heavenly Darkness Star latent within his own body.
Bu Eun-seol closed his eyes.
His breathing became so still it seemed to stop, his existence blending into the surroundings like part of the scenery.
His consciousness sank into an endless abyss.
Abandoning the familiar current of his internal energy, he began following the strange, incomplete flow of the scripture Baekri Geom-ha had left behind.
A force that defied the natural order advanced precariously along his bloodline.
And in that moment—
Deep within his spirit, in the pitch-black darkness, a minuscule crack formed.
Tzzk—
Like fine porcelain splitting, a foreign fissure opened in his inner world.
Pop!
A colorless wavelength—neither light nor darkness—spread outward.
It erased the vision of those who saw it, silenced the hearing of those who listened, and obliterated the foundation of every sense—an annihilating force.
Flash!
When his eyes opened again, the shimmering radiance was pure Emptiness—a will to erase all existence.
His black hair scattered with intangible ripples, and his pupils no longer held the light of humanity.
Those eyes belonged to a being who desired the silence before creation, the nothingness before the dawn of time.
The energy of the Heavenly Darkness Star—capable of annihilating all things in this world—was about to manifest.