Chapter 1146
Jeong Jin-bang gaped in disbelief as he took in the sight of the underground cavern.
"Are you telling me the spirit beasts that were violently attacking people outside are living here peacefully?"
Every member of the Thunder Strike Squad wore expressions of disbelief as their jaws dropped.
"What in the world—"
Just then, Geumhwa, her eyes wide open, spoke up.
"Then it wasn't that the spirit beasts lived in the forest—they were living in this underground cavern all along."
No wonder such a massive number of spirit beasts had suddenly appeared in a forest completely devoid of spiritual energy.
A separate sanctuary for the spirit beasts had been created deep underground, where spiritual energy flowed abundantly.
"But something's strange."
At that moment, Beon Rang muttered under his breath.
"Why do my eyes sting so much?"
"Your eyes...?"
Wol-yeong, shaking his head as if dizzy, suddenly widened his eyes in realization and shouted.
"This place is packed with spirit beasts—that itself is poison!"
With so many spirit beasts gathered in this underground cavern,
the energies and spiritual forces emitted by each had intertwined, corrupting the very air.
While ordinary poison typically comes from a specific source, like a snake's venom,
here, the entire environment had been toxified.
Over countless years, the accumulated breaths, bodily fluids, energies, and secretions of numerous spirit beasts
had turned this underground cavern into a living sea of poison.
Bu Eun-seol, having reached the realm of the Saint Among Poisons, remained completely unaffected,
but the Thunder Strike Squad members were unknowingly being slowly poisoned.
"Sir Sword! The poison—!"
Jeong Jin-bang shouted, but—
Thud!
Bu Eun-seol had already collapsed, his eyes rolled back.
"Damn it!"
Beon Rang, who had the deepest internal energy among them, rushed over to carry Bu Eun-seol away, but—
Thud.
He too lost consciousness and fell.
Thud, thud, thud.
In the end, the entire Thunder Strike Squad succumbed to the extreme poison and collapsed.
Whoosh.
Then, Bu Eun-seol, who had been feigning unconsciousness, slowly rose to his feet.
"A peaceful paradise for spirit beasts, perhaps, but for humans, it's a nest of poison that brings instant death."
He carried all the Thunder Strike Squad members out of the cavern
and used the power of the Saint Among Poisons to purge every trace of poison from their bodies.
"I've removed all the toxins. They should wake within an hour."
As Bu Eun-seol checked on the group, his gaze momentarily sharpened.
But he quickly composed his expression and, with a relieved expression, re-entered the underground cavern.
Ssshhh...
Returning to the spirit beasts' sanctuary, Bu Eun-seol began making his way through.
The deeper he went, the more toxic the air and spiritual energy became, yet not a trace could approach within ten feet of his body.
The low murmurs of the peacefully roaming spirit beasts gradually faded, and the surroundings sank into a heavy silence.
As he slowly advanced, a narrow passage finally opened into an unimaginably vast cavern.
If the previous space had been a natural cave, this one resembled a colossal temple built for the gods.
The arched ceiling was densely studded with bluish stones glowing like the Milky Way, casting a cold, mystical light downward.
Bathed in that light, the enormous obsidian altar at the cavern's center gleamed like a ghost, its smooth surface flashing intermittently.
Around the altar, a vast underground lake stretched like a mirror, perfectly reflecting the starlight above and the altar's grandeur.
'It's unnervingly still.'
The space was so perfectly undisturbed, it created the illusion that time itself had stopped.
But atop the obsidian altar, a massive shadow loomed.
'That is—'
Fur blacker than pitch seemed to absorb even the blue light from the ceiling, while the scales running along its spine to the nape reflected a dazzling array of colors.
A colossal black shadow, hunched like a small mountain.
A creature so overwhelmingly large that even a wild boar the size of a house would look like a child before it.
It was the form of a monster that could not be called human.
Groooan.
As it rose from its crouch, the sharp jawline of a wolf and the majestic mane of a lion came into view.
Atop its head, a pair of enormous, lightning-twisted horns stretched threateningly toward the ceiling.
Just its standing posture exuded a force that dominated the space,
and with every exhale, the faint vibration of the air could be felt against the skin.
'It's as if all the strengths of the spirit beasts dwelling in the underground cavern have been combined into one.'
As Bu Eun-seol observed the monstrous figure with gleaming eyes,
"You've got some nerve."
Contrary to expectations—where one might assume such a creature would only growl or roar—the monstrous being spoke in clear, articulate Chinese.
Its molten, blazing eyes bore down on Bu Eun-seol as it spoke in a solemn voice.
"To come all the way here..."
The sheer weight of its gaze alone felt as though it could pierce through one's very soul.
'So he is Pa Hon.'
Pa Hon.
The one who nearly became one of the Three Attendants—was this the king who commanded the spirit beasts?
"Hmph."
The monster let out a derisive snort, accurately sensing the energy flowing through Bu Eun-seol's body.
"The Saint Among Poisons, I see."
Without bothering to mince words, Bu Eun-seol cut straight to the point.
"Are you Pa Hon?"
Instantly, a murderous glint flickered in the monster's eyes.
"For uttering that name, you will die."
What a joke.
To kill someone just for mentioning the name Pa Hon?
Yet, the words carried unmistakable sincerity.
An overwhelming killing intent, enough to fill the vast cavern, poured from the monster's body.
In contrast, Bu Eun-seol's eyes held neither anger nor hostility.
His expression remained indifferent, as if even this situation was beneath his concern.
"How composed."
The monster observed Bu Eun-seol's unshaken demeanor before suddenly—
—Piiiiii!
A sharp whistle pierced the air.
The cavern trembled in response as the cries of countless spirit beasts erupted in unison.
The howls of wolves and tigers, the hissing of venomous serpents, the shrieks of eagles, even the mournful calls of whales from the depths—all resounded at once.
'He can't possibly be unaware that summoning spirit beasts is pointless against me.'
Yet, something unexpected happened.
Shhhhk—CRACK!
With each echoing roar, countless forms surged from the monster's body.
From its back, a black mist reminiscent of the Venom-Horned Blood Net spilled forth.
Beneath its feet, sticky spiderwebs and venomous fluids, as if the Black-Faced Earth Spider had manifested.
In the air, the form of the Golden-Blooded Raptor flapped its wings, unleashing razor-sharp winds.
Crrrrk—!
The ground beneath the monster split apart, and from the fissures, the shapes of countless beasts and serpents rose, filling the space.
The King of Spirit Beasts.
This being was less a "Forest Demon" and more a true embodiment of such a title.
As if to prove it, the monster's back, now bathed in crimson light, continued to unleash an endless stream of spirit beast forms.
They surged upward with such force that they seemed ready to pierce through the cavern's distant ceiling.
BOOM!
The monster slammed its forelimb down toward Bu Eun-seol—
WHOOSH—CRASH!
A shockwave, as if the heavens and earth had been sundered and mountains collapsed, tore through Bu Eun-seol's body.
Drip, drip, drip.
Fresh blood trickled from the corner of his lips.
Merely from the aftershock of a single stomp, he had suffered internal injuries.
'I forgot—I have only a little internal energy left.'
His body, which normally overflowed with boundless internal energy, would have shrugged off such a shockwave without issue.
But now, with barely 120 years of cultivation remaining, even his Protective Astral Energy was pitifully weak, let alone his Body Protection True Qi.
"Impressive martial arts."
Yet, the monster let out an exclamation of surprise.
It had noticed—the moment the shockwave struck, Bu Eun-seol instinctively employed the subtleties of Deflect Flowers and Receive Jade, diverting most of the force sideways.
Zzzzzzzz—
In an instant, Bu Eun-seol's eyes turned pure white.
He had no intention of struggling to subdue the monster.
After all, attempting to overpower a being on par with the Three Attendants in his current state was impossible from the start.
The only reason he had come here with confidence was one thing alone—
The power of the Saint Among Poisons was still intact.
Zzzzzzz—
As Bu Eun-seol's eyes fully whitened, the monster froze mid-motion.
He had generated Paralytic Poison, Confusion Poison, and Energy-Dispersing Poison all at once, injecting them into the creature.
But then, an unexpected sight unfolded.
Zzzz—Zzzz—
The monster's flesh flickered intermittently before producing a new poison—one that countered Bu Eun-seol's own.
The King of Spirit Beasts.
True to its nature as a being embodying the abilities of all spirit beasts, it had created a new poison to resist Bu Eun-seol's.
'This much was expected.'
He never assumed that a being capable of commanding countless spirit beasts would fall easily to the Saint Among Poisons.
Yet, the reason he continued unleashing the poison's power was singular—
'Because he is not the Saint Among Poisons.'
No matter how many new poisons the monster created to resist Bu Eun-seol's—
It would require an immense expenditure of energy.
Yet Bu Eun-seol did not store poison within his body—instead, he borrowed power from the surrounding environment to unleash an endless stream of poison.
Thus, he could wield poison infinitely without expending any energy of his own.
"An ingenious method, I'll admit."
But the ghoul snorted as if he had already seen through Bu Eun-seol's strategy.
"Still, even if you're not a Poison Person, you can spew poison for half a day without issue."
BOOM!
Once again, he stomped the ground, sending shockwaves rippling through the underground cavern.
"......!"
The ghoul's eyes widened in an instant.
Unlike before, his movements had slowed as if he were submerged in water.
"To think you could control the Spirit Beasts..."
Bu Eun-seol let out a cold snort as he observed the ghoul's struggle.
"Did you truly believe I wouldn't have poison to counter you?"
Only then did the ghoul realize the situation, his eyes bulging in shock.
Bu Eun-seol had not been using the power of the Saint Among Poisons to poison him—
Instead, he had drastically amplified the ghoul's resistance to poison, crippling his body with Reverse Poison Control.
"The Saint Among Poisons didn't earn his title for nothing."
From the very beginning, Bu Eun-seol had noticed that the ghoul possessed all the traits of the Spirit Beasts.
Meaning, he must have had the ability to resist any poison.
But the only way to completely neutralize poison was to wield the power of the Saint Among Poisons—
Otherwise, one had no choice but to rely on Using Poison to Counter Poison, the principle of balancing one toxin against another.
And Bu Eun-seol had exploited that very weakness.
He had spread a poison that forcibly amplified the ghoul's resistance hundreds, even thousands of times beyond its limits.
In the end, the ghoul had no choice but to push his resistance to its absolute brink—all because of a trace amount of poison that wasn't even lethal.
It was like trying to extinguish a single spark with all the water in the world.
As the ghoul's movements slowed and his strength waned, Bu Eun-seol's Sword Strokes began to land.
SHLICK! SPLAT!
Tendons in his arms and legs were severed.
The ghoul tried to retaliate with another shockwave, but his sluggish body failed to land a proper hit.
CRACK! SHWING!
Every time the Ink Soul Sword split the air, green blood sprayed in its wake.
THUD! BOOM.
The ghoul, who had seemed invincible with the power of the Uncorrupted,
finally collapsed under Bu Eun-seol's blade.
He hadn't been completely killed—
But with all his tendons severed, the ghoul could only writhe in agony.
"Now, come out."
Bu Eun-seol spoke in a low voice.
"You've had enough of a spectacle, haven't you?"
Yet his words only echoed through the cavern—no one emerged.
Finally, Bu Eun-seol uttered a single name.
"Wol-yeong."
The moment he spoke—
Clap. Clap. Clap.
A slow applause rang out as a pale figure emerged from the opposite side.
It was Wol-yeong, the youngest of the Thunder Strike Squad.
"Impressive."
He exclaimed.
"No matter how I think about it, I didn't make a single mistake. How on earth did you know?"
"If I were Pa Hon..."
Bu Eun-seol replied calmly.
"...I would've wanted to slip in among the wanderers and watch the spectacle firsthand."
"Hmm."
"You created a forest teeming with Spirit Beasts, gathered wanderers, and played god—crafting rules and a world of your own."
Contempt dripped from his voice.
"Rather than watching from above, wouldn't it be far more entertaining to step inside and enjoy the show alongside them?"
If he was the creator who artificially filled the forest with Spirit Beasts and lured wanderers in—
Then he would have wanted to watch them suffer, hope, and make life-or-death choices every single day.
And if given the chance—
Rather than observing from afar, he would have wanted to blend in among them, to experience their emotions firsthand.
"But that alone shouldn't have been enough to uncover my identity, no?"
Wol-yeong crossed his arms.
"Was it really that suspicious when I said I needed the Ten-Thousand-Year Black Centipede to make medicine for Severed Meridians?"
"It's not my place to pry into others' affairs."
"Then...?"
Bu Eun-seol answered flatly.
"Your body reacted differently when poisoned."
"That's impossible. I perfectly controlled my physical responses."
Wol-yeong shook his head.
"Even the Saint Among Poisons shouldn't have been able to detect such a minute difference."
"Though I am called the Saint Among Poisons, I don't carry poison within me."
Bu Eun-seol's voice remained indifferent.
"I draw it from the outside."
Wol-yeong's eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
The Saint Among Poisons didn't harbor poison within himself—he pulled it from the environment?!
"Experts in Poison Arts identify toxins by observing symptoms, colors, smells, or the changes in a victim's qi.
But Bu Eun-seol was absorbing and connecting with the poison itself—directly sensing its flow and effects within his own body.
While the other Thunder Strike Squad members clearly felt the external poison invading their bodies, settling in and wreaking havoc,
Wol-young had detected that the interaction between the poison and his body operated on an entirely different level.
"The depths of martial arts in Murim are truly boundless. To think there exists a realm like that of the Saint Among Poisons..."
"So you admit it."
Wol-young—no, Pa Hon—shrugged and deflected the conversation.
"You heard about me from Dal-ri, didn't you?"
When Bu Eun-seol nodded, Pa Hon's expression turned bitter.
"I owed her a great debt. That's why I told her of my whereabouts."
He sighed and shook his head.
"In the end, that kindness has come back to bite me."
The only person who had exposed Pa Hon's location was Dal-ri.
The moment Bu Eun-seol recognized him, he had guessed she must have told him.
Pa Hon shook his head again.
"I truly don't understand what she was thinking."
Then he let out a deep sigh.
"A girl who would die without Soul-Demon Magic Energy—what madness drove her to abandon the Servants?"
"What do you mean?"
Bu Eun-seol's expression darkened, and Pa Hon shook his head.
"She was fated to die from the start. But by sheer chance, she absorbed the power of two opposing forces, maintaining a fragile balance..."
Pa Hon gestured to the energy flowing through Bu Eun-seol's body and sighed.
"And now, her Soul-Demon Magic Energy is inside you."
Clench.
Bu Eun-seol's fist tightened.
His suspicions had been correct.
Dal-ri had injected him with the very energy that sustained her life.
"Where is she?"
"Why ask me?"
"Because she saved me and disappeared."
"And who are you?"
Rustle.
Without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol released the Darkness Secret Arts.
If Dal-ri had given up everything for him, then Pa Hon was no enemy.
"Martial Soul Lord."
Pa Hon, recognizing Bu Eun-seol's face, nodded slowly.
"The most extraordinary man in the world. So it was you who stole Dal-ri's heart."
Sigh.
Shaking his head, Pa Hon stretched a hand toward the monstrous figure collapsed in the distance.
In an instant, the creature dissolved into thousands of Spirit Beasts, scattering in all directions.
The Demon of the Forest.
It had been an artificial construct—Spirit Beasts gathered and shaped by Pa Hon's will.
"If a man carrying Dal-ri's life-sustaining energy has come looking for me... it means your body has already begun to fail."
Pa Hon reached out, unhesitating, to seize Bu Eun-seol's Pulse Gate.
"Why aren't you resisting?"
If one's Pulse Gate was seized, no matter how formidable their martial arts, their Internal Energy would be suppressed—
And the flow of their True Qi Circulation could be discerned.
That was why no martial artist, not even brothers or children, would willingly expose their Pulse Gate to another.
"Because you're not my enemy."
Pa Hon studied Bu Eun-seol anew, then nodded.
"I see."
Gripping the Pulse Gate, he closed his eyes briefly before nodding again.
"Your body is in an abnormal state. Two opposing energies are in constant conflict."
Pa Hon shrugged.
"Indeed, this is something only I can fix."
Then he smiled faintly.
"This time, I came to slaughter all the wandering warriors hunting the Black Centipede. But you brought them into the heart of my spell formation, making that impossible."
His next words were chilling.
"Choose."
"Choose what?"
"Save those wanderers—or heal your body."
Pa Hon's eyes curved like crescent moons.
"If you save them, I won't heal you. Conversely, if I heal you, those wanderers will be massacred."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes narrowed.
No matter how amiable he appeared, Pa Hon was still one of the Servants of the True Demon.
In the end, he saw human lives as mere playthings.
"I've heard you're quite righteous. But I'd advise against any half-hearted heroics."
Pa Hon spoke with absolute certainty.
"Your body is beyond saving by anyone in this world but me. And if you choose those people? Even if my head were to roll, I would never heal you."
Bu Eun-seol was the sole figure responsible for the stability of the current Murim.
Would such a man really sacrifice his own recovery to save a band of wandering warriors—most of whom were criminals from Jiaozhi?
An impossibility.
"I've heard your mind rivals even the Heavenly Mechanism Star's. No doubt you're already scheming to overturn my offer."
Pa Hon's voice was firm.
"I will accept no counterproposals. There are only two choices—and you must pick one."
A perfect deadlock.
Healing or slaughter.
No matter which he chose—whether to restore his body or massacre the wanderers—there were only two paths.
This kind of offer... was the work of a devil, sealing off every possible escape.