Chapter 1166
Then had someone taken advantage of the True Demon's lost memories to seize control of the Baekri Clan?
Or had the True Demon eventually regained his memories and exploited his identity to bring down the Baekri Clan?
"What is it? That expression of yours."
Yeom Wi frowned when Bu Eun-seol's face suddenly twisted as if he'd been stabbed in the gut by a sharp blade.
"It's nothing."
Bu Eun-seol shook his head, brushing aside the tangled thoughts rising in his mind.
It wasn't certain yet whether that impostor was the True Demon, nor was there any proof.
Carelessly voicing such suspicions now might only invite misunderstanding.
"Elder. According to the young lady of the Baekri Clan, one must pass through the Three Judges to become a member of the clan."
Regaining his composure, Bu Eun-seol cautiously asked,
"But I heard that the fake Young Clan Head has blocked all paths to the Three Judges, preventing any external descendants from entering the main family."
"It was inevitable."
Yeom Wi's expression turned bitter.
"The Baekri Clan has suffered enough under the fake Baekri Geom-ha to be utterly sick of it."
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
"Then how can I enter the Baekri Clan?"
"Even after hearing all this, you still wish to go?"
"Yes."
Yeom Wi shook his head.
"The reason this old man told you any of this isn't because I believe you're Baekri Geom-ha—it's only because the young lady sent you."
Then, in an icy tone, he added,
"I no longer have the right to meddle in the affairs of the Baekri Clan, nor do I intend to reveal anything more."
It was understandable.
Yeom Wi had gained a new life because of the Baekri Clan—and because of them, that life had also met its end.
With no debts or lingering regrets left, all he wanted now was to live quietly.
'If this were just my personal matter, I would have turned back.'
Bu Eun-seol had no desire to shatter Yeom Wi's peace.
But what if the fake Baekri Geom-ha was left unchecked? Sooner or later, he would kill Baekri Ye-ha.
And if he truly was the True Demon? The Baekri Clan would be doomed that very day.
"Leave."
As Yeom Wi turned away coldly,
'Ah, I have this.'
Only then did Bu Eun-seol remember the half-piece of the jade Baekri Ye-ha had given him.
"Elder."
He retrieved the broken jade fragment from his robes and held it out.
"The young lady said that if you stubbornly refused to help, I should show you this."
"Sacred Heaven Jade?"
Yeom Wi's expression stiffened in shock.
It was the Sacred Heaven Jade—a legendary treasure capable of absorbing any special trait.
Originally kept in its complete form within the Sacred Realm, it was said to have split into two pieces and vanished.
Yet the Baekri Clan had obtained one half, and Baekri Ye-ha had been the one to possess it.
"She gave this to you?"
Yeom Wi's eyes darted between Bu Eun-seol's face and the jade before he asked in a trembling voice, as if unable to believe it.
"The young lady herself?"
"Yes."
"I see."
Yeom Wi's face fell into desolation.
"So the young lady has acknowledged you as her true betrothed."
"What do you—"
Yeom Wi uttered something unexpected.
"The young lady's fiancé was none other than Baekri Geom-ha."
"Fiancé."
Struck by those shocking words, Bu Eun-seol's lips parted slightly, unable to close.
That noble and gentle young lady of the Baekri Clan—had she actually been his betrothed?
For someone of her age to be engaged, it was usually an arrangement made between parents. Which meant...
'A pre-birth betrothal.'
It was highly likely that his father, Baekri Mu-ha, and her father had formed a marriage alliance.
"So that's how it was."
Bu Eun-seol's expression turned dazed.
Only now did he understand.
Why Baekri Ye-ha had willingly offered even her own faction's support to stabilize the returned Baekri Geom-ha as the rightful heir.
'Because I was her betrothed—that's why she went so far to help.'
—If I believed you were the real Baekri Geom-ha, there would be no need for such formalities.
Her shy words resurfaced in his mind.
Baekri Ye-ha had recognized him as the true Baekri Geom-ha and entrusted him with the sacred token she had kept all this time.
"The young lady must truly be in grave danger."
At that moment, Yeom Wi's face twisted in anguish.
To a martial artist, an oath was as binding as life itself—breaking it was considered more shameful than death.
He had sworn never to reveal the secrets of the Baekri Clan, which was why he had refused to speak further, but...
"Fine. I'll tell you."
For the sake of Baekri Ye-ha—his savior's only daughter—he resolved to bear that disgrace.
"Abandon any thought of seeking out the Three Judges to enter the Baekri Clan. That cunning bastard has already blocked all paths leading to them anyway."
Pausing briefly, Yeom Wi stared into empty space before biting his lip and continuing.
"There's only one way left. Form a new contract with the Primordial Dragon."
"A new contract...?"
"Yes. If you do, the Baekri Clan will come looking for you."
Yeom Wi's expression turned solemn.
"But you must attempt it in absolute secrecy."
Then he added something unexpected.
"The previous heir, Baekri Mu-ha, was also branded a traitor when he tried to form a new contract."
The revelation was staggering.
His father had been accused of treason in his youth—because he had attempted to renew the contract with the Primordial Dragon?
"In his youth, my father tried to form a new contract with the Primordial Dragon without consulting the clan?"
"That's right."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Yeom Wi's face twisted bitterly.
"All I know is that the attempt failed. I don't know why he sought to renew the contract, nor why it failed."
"Hmm."
"You may have heard, but Baekri Mu-ha was never at the Baekri Clan in his youth. He wandered the Martial World incessantly—all to change the Baekri Clan, or so they say."
Yeom Wi spoke again.
"However, he operated in utmost secrecy. There was hardly anyone who knew of his movements."
It was known that his father had only briefly ventured into the Martial World.
But in truth, from childhood onward, he had roamed the Martial World ceaselessly, driven by his ambition to reform the Baekri Clan.
"Is this 'Primordial Dragon' truly a divine being from the dawn of time—or an actual dragon?"
"That, I do not know either. However..."
Yeom Wi shook his head.
"If it was said a new contract could be made, then whether it's a mythical dragon or a human, communication must be possible."
It was a somewhat absurd answer, but the best he could offer.
Bu Eun-seol asked cautiously,
"What must one do to form a new contract with the Primordial Dragon?"
Then, with a grave expression, he added,
"You must realize that the false Baekri Geom-ha would never allow such an attempt to go unchallenged."
If entering the Baekri Clan hinged on renewing the contract with the Primordial Dragon—
The impostor would never leave such a dangerous variable unchecked.
"Correct. He rallied the Heavenly Secret Dharma Lord and the Heavenly Secrets Decree of the Sacred Realm to overturn fate and seize control of the Baekri Clan's Secret Vault. On the surface, it was for the clan's safety, but his true aim was likely to block any new contract with the Primordial Dragon."
Yeom Wi wore a slightly apologetic expression.
"Of course, this is not confirmed information. Merely an old man's speculation."
No, you've grasped it perfectly.
Within the Baekri Clan's Secret Vault lay a mystical stone that revealed all truths.
With its power, one could uncover the truth about the Primordial Dragon—
What renewing the contract truly meant, how it could be done.
But the Baekri Clan's Secret Vault held unimaginable secrets, and those stones were not part of the clan's knowledge...
Bu Eun-seol, however, was still unaware of this.
"Heaven willing, if you find a vault he hasn't seized, you may yet discover where to contract with the Primordial Dragon."
At Yeom Wi's words—
Jeong Cheon-je.
The image of Jeong Cheon-je flashed abruptly in Bu Eun-seol's mind.
The maddened Jeong Cheon-je had appeared relentlessly near the Baekri Clan's Secret Vault... Could he, too, be searching for a way to contract with the Primordial Dragon?
Was it possible the Three Realms knew all this and were using him?
"Is there a way to locate the Secret Vault?"
Yeom Wi shook his head at Bu Eun-seol's question.
"I cannot say. The Baekri Clan's Secret Vault can only be entered by those of the Baekri bloodline... If fate wills it, you will find it."
Yeom Wi seemed to be hiding something, but Bu Eun-seol pressed no further.
Even if he asked, he wouldn't receive an answer—and what had been shared already was invaluable.
"Thank you, Elder. You've been of immense help."
Bu Eun-seol bowed deeply in respect.
Though he had clashed with countless figures of the Baekri Clan, none had ever provided as much insight as Yeom Wi.
"Do you have anything else to ask?"
"Elder, though you are not of the Baekri bloodline, how do you know so much of their inner workings?"
It wasn't suspicion—it was an honest question, born of trust.
"You put me to important use, didn't you?"
Yeom Wi replied calmly.
"This old man traversed the Martial World tirelessly, gathering and analyzing information to verify the true Baekri Geom-ha. Thus, I came to know far more about him than most in the Baekri Clan."
"I see."
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
No doubt Baekri Ye-ha had known this as well—which was why she had sent him here.
"Go now."
Yeom Wi turned away again.
"This old man has work to attend to."
"I am deeply grateful for your guidance."
Bu Eun-seol lowered his head and bowed deeply.
"I will return one day to repay this kindness."
When Yeom Wi remained silent,
"Elder."
Bu Eun-seol, realizing something, spoke earnestly.
"You alone know the false Baekri Geom-ha's movements in detail. That knowledge alone would be a great asset to Lady Ye-ha, would it not?"
Yeom Wi shook his head.
"If the young lady has returned to the main family, there is nothing more this old man can do for her. I would only become a burden."
His voice carried resolve.
"Either as leverage to sway her heart—or as a hostage to threaten her."
"Elder."
"Go."
Yeom Wi's tone was firm, yet unexpectedly gentle compared to before.
"May you achieve what you seek. And... take care of the young lady."
Realizing he could not change the old man's mind, Bu Eun-seol clenched his fists.
Then he prostrated himself fully, pressing his forehead to the ground in a deep bow.
"Why such excessive courtesy?"
Yeom Wi turned hastily, his voice solemn.
"If you are the true Baekri Geom-ha, you must never kneel before anyone."
"What worth is the name 'Baekri Geom-ha' if it forbids me from showing respect to my benefactor?"
Bu Eun-seol suppressed the sorrow rising in his chest as he spoke.
"If this title denies me even the right to bow, then it is a useless name indeed."
Yeom Wi's eyes flickered intensely for a moment. Then, a faint smile touched his lips before he snorted softly.
"This old man's eyes... were not mistaken after all."
With those final words, he retreated into the thatched cottage.
Bu Eun-seol bowed deeply toward the cottage once more.
After hesitating for a long moment, he bit his lip and unleashed his movement technique in a single breath, vanishing from sight.
Creak.
As he departed, Yeom Wi stepped outside again and gazed at the sky.
"I've lived long enough anyway."
After neatly bundling his herbs, he washed his body and changed into clean white robes.
Emerging once more, he stared at the bright moonlight.
Merely disclosing the Baekri Clan's affairs to an outsider was already a capital offense.
Moreover, since surveillance networks had been constantly deployed, there was no way his visitors would go unnoticed.
"I have no regrets."
He knew instinctively—
The young man who had just visited had spoken no lies.
That he was the true Baekri Geom-ha, the one Yeom Wi had spent his life searching for.
'Then my duty is fulfilled.'
Yeom Wi smiled.
Now, he could leave this turbulent world without remorse.
Ssssshh—
Cracks slowly spread across his body before it gradually crumbled into dust, scattering in the wind.
Perhaps because he had once been infused with the power of Manifestation Art Energy...
Though his flesh had completely vanished, his silhouette lingered as light for a while longer, illuminating the path where Bu Eun-seol had disappeared.
After some time, even that light faded into the darkness.
And not long after—
A white glow descended from the darkened sky, soon taking the shape of a human figure.
They observed the traces of Yeom Wi, now entirely gone, and shook their heads.
"Suicide."
One shadow placed a hand where Yeom Wi had stood and remained motionless for a long while.
"He made contact with someone."
The black-robed figure sighed deeply before gazing into the distant sky. Then, in a low voice, he muttered:
"Find that person and kill them without fail."
At his quiet command, the figures standing behind him bowed and vanished instantly.
They were all warriors capable of storming the Imperial Palace and beheading the Emperor on the spot.
No matter who Yeom Wi had spoken to, they would hunt them down relentlessly.
Swish.
Once his subordinates disappeared, the black-robed figure stepped out from the ancient tree, revealing himself under the moonlight.
A strikingly handsome man's face was faintly illuminated.
His long, slitted eyes carried a sharp glint,
but his features bore an uncanny resemblance to Bu Eun-seol—no, to the long-lost childhood visage of Baekri Geom-ha.
***
Bu Eun-seol did not return to the Demon Hall.
In truth, he had already recognized death in Yeom Wi's gaze.
'To protect the secret...'
If a person were of the Baekri Clan's caliber,
then peering into the mind of someone without Manifestation Art Energy would be trivial.
Yeom Wi had chosen to end his own life without hesitation to safeguard that secret.
Bu Eun-seol had tried to dissuade him, but once he saw the man's resolve was unshakable, he bowed and left.
'The pursuers will arrive soon.'
If they were hunters sent by the Baekri Clan, they would be on an entirely different level from ordinary martial artists.
What if he couldn't stop them?
Then returning to the Demon Hall would be impossible.
And if he were with his subordinates—
whether at the Death Shadow War Unit or the Wuhun Society—
they would inevitably suffer collateral damage from the attack.
'I can't let his death be in vain.'
The memory of that desperate battle, where he had once stood at death's door, flashed through his mind.
In that moment of pitch-black despair, a single spark of light had emerged—a miraculous stratagem for survival.
'Poison must be countered with poison.'
Bu Eun-seol devised a plan to use himself as bait, a way to survive this deadly trap.
—Leak my trail.
He headed to Chengdu and, through the intelligence network of the Death Soul Squad, deliberately spread traces of a fabricated identity.
—Let minor mistakes pile up, one after another, in a way that seems utterly coincidental.
At a level so subtle that only the highest echelons of the martial world could detect it.
His orders spread through the Death Soul Squad's intricate web of intelligence, meticulously and imperceptibly.
Once all preparations were complete,
Bu Eun-seol set off for Qinghai, where the Black Alliance—where he had once competed with Do Cheon-rin for the position of the Demon Hall's heir—was based.
When he arrived, only a cold wind howled through the desolate ruins.
The fierce battles of the past had long since vanished beneath the tides of time, leaving behind only a hollow emptiness.
'Those days were better.'
Bu Eun-seol inhaled the frigid air and stared into the void.
Back then, he had realized that to avenge his grandfather, he needed his own intelligence network above all else.
Coincidentally, when the Demonic Heavenly Emperor announced he would select the next ruler of the Demon Hall from among the successors of the Demonic Path Ten Gates—including the Ten Demonic Heir—
he had staked everything on that opportunity. The plan succeeded, and before he knew it, he had come to command one of the martial world's most elite intelligence organizations.
'Back then, all I needed was to grow stronger.'
But now, as the leader of a faction navigating the martial world's intricate politics,
he sometimes found himself longing for those fiery, single-minded days—
when he had sparred with his peers and honed his martial arts without restraint.
'I never wanted to get involved with the Baekri Clan's affairs.'
But the impostor who had stolen his place as Baekri Geom-ha was no mere stand-in.
And perhaps... there was no grand mastermind behind it all—
'The probability is high that it's the True Demon.'
If he truly cast off the chains himself—
Then the information that the True Demon severed the Chain of Reincarnation and lost all his memories must have spread.
Instinctively, he would have shaken off even his own followers.
He would have sought an absolute hiding place where no pursuer could ever find his traces.
And in this world, such a place—
Could only be the Baekri Clan's domain.
KOOOONG—
A massive shadow landed with a deafening crash before Bu Eun-seol, lost in thought.
As the swirling dust settled, the figure revealed—
A man draped in an extravagantly embroidered robe, yet with a face so plain it was utterly forgettable.
Though Bu Eun-seol had never seen him before, he knew exactly who this was.
"You've come."
Without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol—disguised as Daoist Mok through the Darkness Secret Arts—spoke calmly.
"Martial Venerable."
It was none other than the Martial Venerable.
"Did you truly believe you could toy with me and leave alive?"
The Martial Venerable's voice was frigid as ice, his gaze sharp with killing intent that seemed to pierce through everything.
The trail Bu Eun-seol had leaked through the Death Soul Squad's intelligence network—
Had not been his own, but the secret movements of Daoist Mok, who had slipped away from the Martial Alliance.
"What did you do in Daoist Mok's office?"
The Martial Venerable's eyes flashed.
"Did you retrieve something he possessed?"
It was clear he believed Bu Eun-seol—disguised as Daoist Mok—must have some connection to him.
"Speak. What exactly were you trying to accomplish?"
"I have no need to explain my duties to an outsider."
"I know you were cast out from the Sacred Realm."
The Martial Venerable's unexpected words made Bu Eun-seol's eyebrow twitch.
'Not only is he mistaking me for someone else—'
In truth, he had no idea how the chain from the Iron Coffin had fused with his body—its principles, its structure.
'But he knows how to transfer the chain.'
Even if one mastered the Emotion Severing Secret Art, that only allowed control over the chain—not the ability to pass it to another.
Yet the Martial Venerable had casually referred to it as "receiving" the Chain of Reincarnation.
"You—"
Noticing the shift in Bu Eun-seol's gaze, the Martial Venerable's expression darkened.
"You... might not be the Sacred Realm's successor after all."
Alarmingly, he had sensed the ripples spreading through Bu Eun-seol's spirit and mind.
'I must guard my thoughts.'
The Martial Venerable was not only cunning but possessed terrifyingly sharp instincts.
And having observed him for so long—perhaps even the slightest shift in tone or gaze could betray his identity.
"You lured me here deliberately, didn't you?"
The Martial Venerable's lips curled as if considering the possibility Bu Eun-seol had leaked the information intentionally.
"It doesn't matter."
When Bu Eun-seol remained silent, the Martial Venerable's voice turned icy.
"Even if you brought hundreds of thousands of troops, you won't escape this time."
ZZZIIING—
A strange energy erupted from the Martial Venerable's body, blurring the sky as black barriers formed in all directions.
It was the Golden Chain Formation—dozens of times more impenetrable than Bu Eun-seol's Life-and-Death Combat Formation.
"Even if you are the Sacred Realm's successor, you won't escape death."
The Martial Venerable spoke as if he knew the Sacred Realm's affairs with unnerving accuracy.
"I'll give you one last chance. What exactly did you do in our Alliance...?"
Just as he spoke calmly—
KWAANG!
He suddenly lashed out.
Despite possessing strength enough to dominate the world, he showed no arrogance or complacency—
Instead, he relished striking at his enemy's blind spot.
KWAOOONG!
A force powerful enough to distort space itself crashed down on Bu Eun-seol.
Whoosh!
Bu Eun-seol stepped back, summoning Protective Astral Energy to block the attack.
ZZZIIING—
The transparent energy shield screamed as it collided with the incoming force, the ground beneath his feet cracking like a spiderweb.
'This is his level?'
Bu Eun-seol's pupils narrowed.
Had he used the True Void, he was certain he wouldn't lose.
But the power the Martial Venerable wielded far surpassed his expectations.
It transcended mere martial prowess—
As if he were wielding the very Laws of Heaven and Earth themselves.
"Die."
In his hands, which had restrained Bu Eun-seol's feet, darkness blacker than night and a scorching sun—
Two opposing forces swirled and merged.
A destructive power capable of reducing all existence to nothingness.
'That is—'
Bu Eun-seol's eyes widened.
The energy technique the Martial Venerable was unleashing—
Wasn't that the Four Emperors' Martial Arts, the same technique Jeong Cheon-je had used when he went mad?
'Then—'
At that very moment—
KWA-KOOOONG—!
A deafening roar shook the heavens as three streaks of light descended from the sky.
Like falling meteors, they crashed between the Martial Venerable and Bu Eun-seol, unleashing a massive shockwave.
The three figures were engulfed in blinding white radiance, their sacred energy saturating the air—
Making even their faces impossible to discern.
"You—?"
The moment he saw them—
For the first time, confusion flickered across the Martial Venerable's face.
How could they shatter the Golden Chain Formation—crafted with his lifelong cultivation—in an instant?
Before he could speak—
A pale, eerie light surged from the three figures, shooting up their spines and into the sky.
The Martial Venerable's eyes bulged as if they would tear open.
"The Baekri Clan."
That mystical energy, reaching toward the heavens—
Wasn't it the Manifestation Art Energy of the Baekri Clan? The great family that had opposed the True Demon since antiquity, said to wield the power of creation itself—?