Chapter 1132
'It's different.'
For grandmasters of martial arts like Bu Eun-seol, who could create their own martial doctrines—
Even a single stance was enough to read through the intricacies of martial arts techniques.
'This isn't Grandfather's Bloody Tears Seven Forms.'
From Bu Eun-seol's current perspective—
The path the blade had taken was visible, and around the jagged rocks, the trajectories of the blade winds swirled in place like frozen whirlwinds.
'It's a variant of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms.'
The remnants of the sword strokes left behind—
Were not those of a Death God delivering demise, but rather like the furious swipes of a wrathful demon consumed by rage.
The killing intent was frozen like ice, and along the blade's path, lingering resentment clung—as if touching it would freeze even one's soul.
'So the Bloody Tears Seven Forms can take this form as well?'
Zzzing.
But then, far in the distance, about ten jang away, another space tore open.
Simultaneously, towering masked figures appeared—each over eight cheok tall, their massive physiques imposing.
'They're not artificial monstrosities like the Yin-Killing Soul-Transferring Man.'
Meaning, they weren't creatures bound to guard the Tomb of Myriad Phenomena.
'Did they forcibly meet the conditions?'
Those who knew the requirements to enter the Tomb of Myriad Phenomena—
Sometimes forcibly trained individuals capable of fulfilling the conditions for each tomb.
Most likely, these were people sent by some faction to obtain the Nine Heavens Radiant Cloud Pearl here, having met the conditions through artificial means.
Their eyes flickered as they alternately scrutinized Bu Eun-seol and their surroundings.
Zzzing. Zzzing. Zzzing.
From then on, spaces tore open incessantly, revealing more masked figures—some small in stature, others armed with weapons.
Kukukuku.
The earth trembled, and the vast plains began to shrink slightly.
With each masked figure's appearance, the space contracted bit by bit.
'So that's how it is.'
Bu Eun-seol finally understood.
The reason martial techniques were inscribed here—
They were the remnants of those who had fought enemies, been defeated, and perished.
"If you don't defeat your enemies, you can't leave this space."
As if to prove it—
With each tremor, more masked figures emerged, and the space continued to dwindle.
"There's no way this many masters of the Martial Extreme Realm would suddenly appear."
Bu Eun-seol discerned not only that the masked figures were quite young but also that they wielded supernatural powers.
"As expected, they've sent in subordinates with supernatural powers to forcibly open the Tomb of Myriad Phenomena."
Supernatural powers couldn't replace the Limitless Power that surpassed martial principles.
But detecting the flow of this Tomb of Myriad Phenomena and slipping through its cracks—
That could be substituted with supernatural power. They must have entered through such means.
Crack-crack-crack!
Without hesitation, they rushed forward, encircling Bu Eun-seol.
Zzzt-zzzt!
From the hands of those at the forefront, blue flames crackled.
Kwaaang!
As they swung their arms, dozens of azure spears rained down toward Bu Eun-seol.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At the same time, the larger masked figures at the rear charged forth, shaking the earth.
Kurung!
From the fingers of those flanking him, compressed Finger Winds of immense power erupted.
"Hmm."
Bu Eun-seol tilted his upper body slightly, taking a half-step forward with a fluid motion.
Every attack from the masked figures brushed past him.
Though Baekri Geom-ha's insights had faded, he had adapted the Imperial Step into his evasion.
Kwaaang!
As Bu Eun-seol dodged every attack—
The masked figures attempting to ram him leaped into the air, unleashing a downpour of palm energy.
But this wasn't ordinary palm energy.
Infused with supernatural power, each strike scattered tens of thousands of razor-sharp fragments.
Fwaaa!
Moreover, their attacks carried—
A strange semblance to the martial techniques of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars.
Flash!
Countless points of light instantly filled the space around Bu Eun-seol.
Kwaaang!
With each impact, blackened craters erupted from the ground amid deafening explosions.
Tsu-tsu-tsu-chut!
For some reason, Bu Eun-seol made no move to counterattack, relying solely on Swift Shadowless.
Zzzing.
Then, the space behind him distorted, and masked figures wielding sharp swords began pouring down sword strokes.
Without even turning—
Bu Eun-seol raised his sheathed Ink Soul Sword, blocking the onslaught.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Amid the sharp metallic clashes, the swordsmen were forced back a full jang.
Fwaaaat!
Suddenly, a pitch-black orb of void formed above him, tracing an enigmatic arc as it hurtled down.
The masked figures had unleashed another supernatural power.
Fyu-fyu-fyu-fyu!
Where the orb grazed, the jagged rocks melted away as if punctured.
It was an unrelenting assault—a spectacle of diverse supernatural powers unlike anything he'd faced before.
Swishhh!
Then, shadows writhed beneath Bu Eun-seol's feet, and a transparent, colossal hand surged upward as if to seize his ankle.
The reason they rained attacks from above while wielding varied supernatural powers—
Was to ensure the success of this decisive strike erupting from below.
Tsu-tsu-chut!
As Bu Eun-seol's form multiplied into ninety-nine, the transparent hands clawed futilely at empty air.
He had evaded them all with Swift Shadowless honed to the Extreme Realm.
'The Same Heart Society.'
The reason he had only evaded without counterattacking all this time.
It was to clearly ascertain the identities of those masked men.
'They said one must leave behind a true divine martial art.'
And the second reason—
It was because of what Baek Jeon-cheon had told him.
The words about those who visited the Tomb of Myriad Phenomena losing one true divine martial art had nagged at him.
'If I have to leave behind a martial art just to eliminate them...'
Though the masked men wielded formidable martial arts and supernatural powers, from Bu Eun-seol's perspective, they posed no real threat.
The only thing that concerned him was one possibility—
That if he unleashed a martial art to eliminate them, he might truly lose one of his techniques.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As their attacks proved futile, the towering masked men tore through the ground once more, charging at Bu Eun-seol.
After continuously dodging their assaults, Bu Eun-seol finally made up his mind.
'Poison.'
Among all the powers he possessed, the most convenient and overwhelmingly potent—
Yet entirely unrelated to the progression of martial arts—was the ability of the Saint Among Poisons.
'I don't like defiling corpses either.'
Truthfully, his aversion to poison ran deep.
Having worked as an undertaker alongside his grandfather, restoring and treating the deceased with utmost care—
He instinctively hesitated to use a poison that would desecrate a corpse.
Moreover, his grandfather himself—
Had been corroded by the Rotting Flesh Decaying Blood, his remains gruesomely defiled.
Unconsciously, Bu Eun-seol had developed an extreme revulsion toward poison itself.
Sssssk—
As he drew upon the power of the Saint Among Poisons, his pupils turned stark white.
He had never formally learned Poison Art, nor did he possess a poison essence that transcended the limits of the Saint Among Poisons.
Yet, he could freely create poison based on his surroundings.
A power that no other martial artist would ever relinquish—yet to Bu Eun-seol, it was nothing more than a cumbersome ability.
Sssssss—
The moment he activated the Saint Among Poisons' power—
A white mist began spreading from his back, seeping in all directions.
Wherever the mist passed, holes riddled the rocks and trees, and the earth darkened as if scorched.
Zzzzzzt!
The masked men, sensing the onset of poisoning, raised their internal energy and supernatural power to repel the toxin.
But the poison Bu Eun-seol created was naturally synthesized from the environment—
Crk-crk-crk!
Within the Tomb of Myriad Phenomena, the poison he manifested—
Like the bizarre rocks scattered around, was a petrifying toxin that began turning their bodies to stone.
Crrrk—
The masked men's legs gradually stiffened like rock.
As they flailed their arms, even their limbs hardened into rigid stone.
KWA-BOOM!
Yet, some endured the poison.
They shattered their own petrified bodies and lunged at Bu Eun-seol once more.
Whoooosh—
In that instant, a crimson draconic energy surged violently from Bu Eun-seol's right arm.
He unleashed the Fourth Form of the Fist Demon Seven Forms—Heavenly Hand Empty Wave.
KWA-AAAAANG!
A force capable of overturning the terrain erupted all at once, and the masked men, unable to evade, were swallowed by the shockwave.
KRRRUMBLE!
With a thunderous roar, those exposed to the full brunt of the strike collapsed, unable to rise again.
But then, something strange happened.
Crrk—
The masked men who had died from taking the Heavenly Hand Empty Wave head-on—
Began turning to stone.
'Once life is severed... petrification occurs.'
The reason this place was littered with bizarre rocks—
Was because those who died within the Tomb of Myriad Phenomena turned into stone.
Zzzzzzt—
At that moment, a peculiar reaction stirred within Bu Eun-seol's body.
From the surrounding bizarre rocks—
The poison he had created was being absorbed back.
"So this is what they meant by offering a true divine martial art."
"Offering" a martial art to the Tomb of Myriad Phenomena didn't mean it was permanently taken away—
Rather, it meant recording one true divine martial art here and entrusting its use while inside.
"Choosing poison was the right decision."
For the duration of his stay here, the power of the Saint Among Poisons was essentially an admission fee.
Until he left, he would be unable to use poison.
'Not that it matters even if they could take it.'
Had Bu Eun-seol harbored a poison essence within his body, refining toxins internally—
Temporarily losing it would have shattered his mastery as the Saint Among Poisons.
But because he synthesized poison naturally from his surroundings—
Even if his power was continuously absorbed, it wouldn't affect him.
Rumble—
As the last of the masked men perished—
The shrinking space of the Tomb of Myriad Phenomena reverted to its original state, revealing a previously unseen forest.
'Crystal.'
The trees and grass covering the ground were all sculpted from transparent crystal.
Each leaf, dangling from the branches, captured light, scattering countless prismatic shards with every step.
Yet within that beauty lurked a deadly threat.
Inside the crystal-clear structures—as if the Mind Seizing Secret Art had been cast—
Strange afterimages endlessly repeated.
Even the animal-shaped sculptures scattered throughout seemed to lunge the moment light touched them.
'If one's spiritual and mental fortitude isn't strong enough...'
The instant one stepped into this forest, they would fall under an illusion like the Mind Seizing Secret Art—
Either losing consciousness or wandering mindlessly.
Tink. Clink.
With every step, the crystal grass shattered, producing sounds like shattering glass.
After walking deep inside, at the heart of the forest—
A crystal tree, incomparably larger than the others, stood in solemn silence.
And embedded at its center—
Was a single, mysteriously shimmering orb.
'The Nine Heavens Radiant Cloud Pearl.'
Bu Eun-seol instinctively knew the crystal embedded within the tree was the legendary Nine Heavens Radiant Cloud Pearl.
It was slightly smaller than an adult's fist, its surface smooth and unblemished.
At its core, a crimson light pulsed—like blood flowing through veins—expanding and receding in a rhythmic cycle.
At times, it swelled, dyeing the entire pearl in red, and from that scarlet radiance, thin golden threads unfurled like silk, spreading outward.
The sight was reminiscent of primordial chaos—
like watching golden and silver nebulae flowing as gracefully as a river.
'This is no ordinary pearl.'
Just as Bu Eun-seol unconsciously held his breath and peered deeper into it—
Kurung.
A distant thunderclap echoed, followed by an incessant metallic clanging.
Someone else had entered this place.
Ghk.
Before he knew it, a masked man stood opposite him, his face concealed behind a mask that glowed faintly with moonlight.
His wide sleeves and golden robe, embroidered with dragons and phoenixes, fluttered like flames with every movement.
The eyes behind the mask held both majesty and indifference, flickering intermittently with an eerie light.
"That is—"
Bu Eun-seol's gaze wasn't fixed on the masked man's face but on what hung at his side.
Slung across his back was a rugged, oversized greatsword—its hilt longer than that of any ordinary blade.
'Journey.'
The very hilt Bu Eun-seol had lost when he was struck by Hyeokryeon Eung's attack and sent tumbling off a cliff.
Wasn't this the hilt of the greatsword his grandfather had once wielded?
And despite being sheathed, a dark miasma billowed ominously from it.
Not only had this man recovered Journey, but he had also reunited it with its original blade.
"You—"
According to Domyeong, the disciple of Langya Pavilion and former leader of the Eastern Drifters, Western Wanderers—
hadn't he said that the greatsword of Bu Eun-seol's grandfather was in the possession of the leader of the Same Heart Society?
"Are you the leader of the Same Heart Society?"
"Martial Soul Lord."
Since Bu Eun-seol wasn't disguised, the masked man recognized him immediately and gave a slight nod.
"To think you've survived after stirring up so many factions. So, you were a dog of the Sacred Realm."
The masked man's voice was neither young nor old—a neutral resonance that transcended gender.
"Where did you find my grandfather's greatsword?"
When the masked man—the leader of the Same Heart Society—remained silent, Bu Eun-seol pressed.
"That is my grandfather's relic."
"What nonsense."
The leader scoffed.
"If I told you the sword you carry once belonged to my grandfather, would you hand it over without protest?"
Martial artists of the world held the belief that treasures of the Martial World had no true owners—only those who claimed them first.
Unless the leader willingly returned it, Bu Eun-seol would have to take it by force.
"You lured a disciple of Langya Pavilion onto the path of evil."
Members of the Same Heart Society had ambushed him before, and they had led Domyeong astray.
Even if it weren't for the greatsword, there were countless reasons to bring this man down.
"Hohoho."
Sensing the killing intent radiating from Bu Eun-seol, the leader's lips curled into a faint smile.
"If you have the skill, come and take it."
Ghk.
The leader's demeanor and gaze had been unfamiliar until now.
But the moment he shifted into a combat stance, something about him felt eerily recognizable.
CLANG!
A blinding flash erupted as their weapons clashed, shaking the very space where the crystal tree stood.
In an instant, the leader closed the distance, swinging his sheathed greatsword like lightning—
only for Bu Eun-seol to block it with Ink Soul Sword.
Hiss-hiss-hiss.
Sparks flew endlessly where the blade of Ink Soul Sword met the scabbard of the greatsword.
Light and darkness collided, tearing through space, and the shockwaves of their clash rattled the entire Tomb of Myriad Phenomena.
Ghk.
As if by mutual agreement, both withdrew their weapons and stepped back about ten feet.
The air grew heavy, as if frozen solid.
Bu Eun-seol closed his eyes.
With his vision sealed, the extrasensory perception of the Beast Path sharpened to an extreme degree.
The formless currents of qi emanating from the leader's greatsword pressed against him like viscous ropes, threatening to bind his limbs.
Even though the blade remained sheathed, its razor-sharp sword intent sliced through his body like a bone-carving wind.
Zzziiing.
As he became one with Ink Soul Sword, a shockwave of internal energy naturally rose from Bu Eun-seol's body—
forming a transparent barrier of qi that repelled the leader's invisible currents.
Yet, the piercing sharpness that seeped through his skin remained unblocked.
'He's strong.'
The leader's Formless Qi was like countless needles—
relentlessly stabbing into his flesh without pause.
Flash.
As the Beast Path's extrasensory perception reached its peak, the Heavenly Robe Mind Art activated on its own—
which, in turn, triggered the Langya Mind's Eye.
Then, these forces stimulated his right eye, igniting a blue radiance.
The power of the Ancient Sword Forest had manifested.
Instantly, the world within his vision slowed to an extreme degree.
He could now clearly trace the trajectory of the leader's internal energy shockwaves.
Not only that—he could even discern the shape of a single crystal fragment scattering across the ground.
Had lightning struck from the heavens, his eyes would have perceived it as slow-moving streaks of light.
With this transcendent vision, Bu Eun-seol scrutinized the leader from head to toe.
Swoosh.
At that moment, he noticed the leader's legs subtly tensing—
as if gripping the earth, ready to explode forward at any second.
From behind the mask, the man's eyes first spilled forth a sea-blue radiance—
then darkened into an abyss, exhaling an eerie glow.
The Righteous Faction's Heart Method.
To his astonishment, the leader of the Same Heart Society was employing an Internal Energy Method of the Righteous Faction.
'Shaolin?'
And not just any—it was none other than the Tendon Transformation Sutra of Shaolin.