Chapter 1191
A sharp energy surged from Bu Eun-seol's body as he floated midair.
Clang.
When he drew Ink Soul Sword and held it upright in a middle stance, the energy throughout his body transformed into something akin to the tip of a spear.
Crash—!
Simultaneously merging with his sword, he shot toward the grotesque figure on the ground like lightning.
At a glance, it resembled the opening stance of Body-Sword Unity, but in truth, it was—
A single ordinary martial form, layered with two or more profound martial principles.
The principle of One Form Two Mysteries, employed to unleash the Formless Heavenly Flow technique.
"......"
The grotesque figure stood motionless,
staring fixedly at Bu Eun-seol as he shot toward him.
Just as the tip of Ink Soul Sword reached the bridge of his nose, the figure raised a single black finger before his eyes.
Clang—!
Sparks erupted as Bu Eun-seol's Body-Sword Unity was abruptly halted mid-execution.
As effortlessly as swatting away a single mosquito, the figure deflected the attack with nothing but the tip of his finger.
'This much...?'
Whoosh—! Thud.
Bu Eun-seol flipped several times in the air before landing, his gaze deepening.
Until now, the only beings who had made him feel such an overwhelming disparity—this chasm between heaven and earth—were
absolute figures standing at the pinnacle of the martial world, like the Return to Unity Realm Lord or the Twin Heaven Emperors.
Yet this unknown entity, whom he had never encountered before, was making him feel that same insurmountable wall?
'I'll settle this with the sword.'
A stubborn determination rose within him.
In the past, whenever he faced a formidable opponent, he would resort to techniques like the Bloody Tears Seven Forms, Harmonization, or the Heavenly Light Seven Forms based on the Three Divine Powers.
But at some point—without even knowing why—
he had begun to engage enemies primarily with swordplay, creating and unraveling the principles of martial arts.
Whoosh—!
Swinging Ink Soul Sword in a full arc, Bu Eun-seol immediately deployed the Fire Rain Thirteen Forms.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Yet the grotesque figure continued blocking Bu Eun-seol's sword techniques with nothing but a single finger.
Zzzzt—
But what Bu Eun-seol was aiming for wasn't
mere slashing or thrusting—it was deciphering or disrupting the core of the figure's power.
As if sensing something, the figure suddenly
"Hoo!"
parted his lips and forcefully exhaled a sharp burst of energy.
Slash—!
An ordinary martial artist would have suffered a fatal wound from that sudden attack,
but Bu Eun-seol had long been a master of Practical Combat Martial Arts—
even in his early days in the martial world, he had once spat a mouthful of saliva to intercept an enemy's strike.
Anticipating an unusual attack the moment the figure opened his mouth, he swiftly leaned back to evade before
thrusting toward the figure's abdomen like lightning.
The figure attempted to block the sword with his finger again, but
Whoosh—!
Bu Eun-seol had already altered his sword stroke mid-execution, slashing toward the figure's flank instead.
It was such an exquisitely timed shift in offense that the figure couldn't immediately defend against it.
Swoosh.
The attack landed, but the sensation transmitted through his hand was bizarre beyond words.
It didn't feel like he had cut through something—more like he had sliced through empty air.
'This...'
Bu Eun-seol was inwardly stunned.
The figure hadn't dodged the attack—
he had shifted the very space where Ink Soul Sword had thrust half an inch to the side.
'Has this man reached a level comparable to Sect Leader Wi Ji?'
The Profound Demon Wi Ji-mua had transcended the boundaries of the Martial Extreme Realm, mastering a secret art that allowed him to freely manipulate space.
Even when serving tea, it was as if he performed magic—instantly summoning a cup from elsewhere right before one's eyes.
And now, this grotesque figure before him had
shifted space in an instant to evade a fatal sword stroke.
'Am I still that far behind?'
A chill ran down Bu Eun-seol's spine.
His martial prowess had steadily risen over time,
and he had reached a level where he could confidently hold his own even against the Three Demons.
But there was still a gap he hadn't bridged—
the depth of martial understanding.
The Three Demons and Three Venerables possessed talent no less than Bu Eun-seol's,
and they had honed their martial arts for far longer, observing the currents of the martial world with relentless dedication.
As a result, they had all stepped beyond the framework of the Martial Extreme Realm into new heights.
In terms of pure martial achievement, Bu Eun-seol still hadn't reached their ranks.
Yet this grotesque figure had executed a martial principle akin to Sect Leader Wi Ji's—
one that even Bu Eun-seol couldn't yet wield—to evade a lethal strike?
'Has this man reached the same level as the Pavilion Lord...?'
For a moment, the terrifying image of Ak Mu-ryeong—his overwhelming aura as if tearing through the heavens—flashed through his mind.
'No... No.'
Recalling Ak Mu-ryeong's presence, he felt certain.
That this was impossible.
That in the current martial world, there existed not a single person who had reached the same level as the Twin Heaven Emperors or the Three Demons and Three Venerables.
'What he used wasn't a martial principle.'
Just then, as if seizing the perfect moment for a decisive strike, the figure closed the distance and extended his finger.
'Ink Soul Sword?'
Come to think of it, the figure was capable of unleashing devastating long-range attacks powerful enough to obliterate a village with just a glance.
Yet he insisted on fighting solely with his fingers, repeatedly reaching out—
almost as if he were trying to seize Ink Soul Sword.
Zzzzt—!
As the figure extended his finger, a bizarre force flowed through Ink Soul Sword into Bu Eun-seol's body.
It was a revolting, spine-chilling sensation—like a living serpent slithering into his veins.
'Good!'
The moment that grotesque force attempted to corrode his flesh,
Bu Eun-seol unleashed the Counterflow Fusion Art—a technique he had mastered while escorting Princess Hui-jeong.
Instantly, the figure's robes billowed taut like a drum before gradually settling back to normal.
Astonishingly, he had even overcome the power of the Counterflow Fusion Art.
'Definitely not martial arts.'
If the figure's power had been martial arts—
even if he had ultimately repelled the Counterflow Fusion Art, he wouldn't have neutralized it the moment it entered his body.
Fwoosh!
At that moment, a pitch-black surge of qi erupted from the grotesque figure's hand.
Pshht!
A razor-sharp light pierced through the fabric of Bu Eun-seol's robes and burrowed into his body.
Like quicksilver rolling across a tray, it slithered once more into the meridians of his right arm—relentlessly, obsessively targeting his grip on the Ink Soul Sword, as if determined to force him to drop it.
Crack!
Bu Eun-seol unleashed the Heavenly Light Endless Art, repelling the invasive force and retreating over ten zhang.
Zzziiing—
Suddenly, a cerulean energy began seeping from his right pupil.
As the unknown force—something he couldn't even identify—continued infiltrating his meridians, the power of the Ancient Sword Forest activated on its own.
'Soul-Demon Magic Energy?'
Only now, with the Ancient Sword Forest's power responding, did he realize what the grotesque figure was wielding.
'But... it's different.'
The Soul-Demon Magic Energy he had encountered before was ever-shifting, existing solely for destruction—akin to the divine wrath of a demon god.
Yet the energy this being wielded was—
Unbelievably pure. As if not a single trace of selfish desire tainted it, refined to an extreme degree of flawlessness.
Zzziiiing...
A faint glow began radiating from Bu Eun-seol's body in response.
Realizing that, regardless of its nature, this force still carried the attributes of Soul-Demon Magic Energy, the latent Manifestation Art Energy within him stirred—pushing back against the intrusion.
Zzzzt— Zzzzt—
As the two forces clashed, Bu Eun-seol's and the grotesque figure's skin flickered like pulsing stars.
But Bu Eun-seol's flickering was far more frequent.
The energy flowing from the black-robed man was incomparably purer—and stronger.
'Then...'
A bizarre thought flashed through Bu Eun-seol's mind.
'Do I even need to repel it?'
He couldn't wield it freely, but he, too, possessed Soul-Demon Magic Energy.
So rather than deflecting it—what if he used the Counterflow Fusion Art to absorb it into his body instead?
'Given its gentle nature, it shouldn't cause severe harm.'
Shhhhk—
Changing tactics, he stopped resisting the torrent of energy and instead—
Like drawing in internal energy, he began absorbing the invasive force into his body using the Counterflow Fusion Art.
Crackle— Crackle—
The flickering of his skin accelerated rapidly, and before long, his body began stiffening like petrified wood.
'This energy... wasn't meant to be absorbed.'
The grotesque figure's Soul-Demon Magic Energy—
Was of such extreme purity that no human body could possibly contain it.
'Disaster.'
Just as fish cannot survive in water too clear, the moment he accepted this flawless, immaculate energy—
His flesh began crumbling from within, unable to endure it.
'How is this being containing such power in its body?'
Bu Eun-seol mustered all his strength, unleashing the Heavenly Light Endless Art to resist the Soul-Demon Magic Energy ravaging his insides.
BOOOOM—
The violent clash of forces left him completely paralyzed—unable to so much as twitch a finger.
Thud. Thud.
Seeing Bu Eun-seol frozen in place, the grotesque figure slowly advanced, as if savoring its impending victory.
Then, the moment it raised its hand—
FLASH!
A radiant brilliance erupted from Bu Eun-seol's entire body—so dazzling it could bleach the world white.
The light and shockwave were as intense and scorching as a sun going supernova.
KABOOOOOM—!
A deafening explosion rocked heaven and earth.
Hiiissss—
White smoke billowed upward, and—
From the grotesque figure's body came the sizzling sound of water splashed onto molten metal.
Fine cracks, like those on shattered porcelain, spiderwebbed across its skin, leaking light from within.
Unable to endure the grotesque figure's Soul-Demon Magic Energy, Bu Eun-seol had used the Counterflow Fusion Art to chaotically mix it with his own energy before violently expelling everything outward.
Tremble—
His fingertips quivered faintly.
Having detonated all his energy internally to expel it, he had suffered severe internal injuries.
'It's... unharmed?'
Crack.
Contrary to expectations, the grotesque figure calmly cracked its neck.
Despite taking the full brunt of both its own Soul-Demon Magic Energy and Bu Eun-seol's counterattack, it bore not a single wound.
Instead, its eyes narrowed like honed blades—before unleashing an overwhelming wave of Killing Intent.
Whoooosh—
As the grotesque figure slowly raised its hand toward the sky—
GROOOOWL—
A sinister energy began swirling violently from its fingertips.
Clouds churned, the atmosphere twisted, and all the darkness in the world seemed to converge into its grasp—
Forming a colossal sphere of abyssal black at the center of the heavens.
As if even fighting had become a nuisance, it intended to annihilate Bu Eun-seol—and the entire area—in a single strike.
RUUUUMBLE—
The massive sphere, easily dozens of yards wide, didn't immediately descend but remained suspended in midair.
In that instant, Bu Eun-seol realized—
This attack wouldn't simply fall from above.
The moment he activated his Movement Technique or even twitched—it would track his movement like a meteor and crush him with pinpoint accuracy.
Under normal circumstances, he could evade it easily.
But now, after suffering deep internal injuries from reversing the grotesque figure's energy with the Counterflow Fusion Art—
He couldn't muster his full speed.
Zzziiing—
A faint glow emanated from the Ink Soul Sword.
Rather than dodging clumsily and dying, he resolved to gather every last ounce of strength—and face it head-on.
SCREEEEEECH—!
A deafening roar erupted from the distance.
Simultaneously, a single streak of brilliant light shot across the sky in a straight line before—
KABOOOOM—!
Abruptly changing trajectory, it plunged straight toward the ground near Bu Eun-seol.
KOOOOM.
The earth was deeply gouged, and clouds of dust erupted in all directions as if exploding outward.
Before the dust could even settle—
A figure with flowing hair emerged slowly from the epicenter.
A woman of striking height, with broad, solid shoulders, a straight nose, and plump, adorable cheeks—undeniably beautiful.
It was So Ok-rim.
"I knew it!"
Approaching Bu Eun-seol, who stood tall despite the devastation, she flashed a grin, revealing teeth as white as polished jade.
"I thought it was your energy."
Bu Eun-seol had detonated a fusion of his own power and the Soul-Demon Magic Energy using the Counterflow Fusion Art, sending a shockwave that rippled out for dozens of li.
So Ok-rim, sensing the disturbance, had immediately rushed to the scene.
"In all the world, there's no one else with such a chaotic energy signature besides you—"
Her cheerful expression faltered as she finally noticed the floating sphere in the air and the monstrous figure standing in the distance.
"What the hell is that?"
"So Ok-rim, get back!"
Bu Eun-seol stepped in front of her just as—
KWAANG!
A massive sphere, dozens of zhang wide, plummeted like a meteor in response to his movement.
KOOM.
Bu Eun-seol channeled the last remnants of his energy, blending thirteen different martial principles into a single force, and caught the descending sphere with both hands.
But the sphere wasn't immense force—it was more like a curse, seeping into his flesh.
CHI-CHI-CHIK.
The sphere shrank rapidly, and a strange energy began burrowing into his meridians.
"Kh—"
A low groan escaped him.
"HOW DARE YOU?!"
With a thunderous roar, So Ok-rim spread her arms wide.
Silver radiance burst from her palms, forming an Astral Energy Barrier that gleamed like diamond.
KOOOOOM—!
The moment her barrier took shape, the sphere stopped shrinking—
KOOM!
Instead, it solidified like hardened metal and began pressing down violently on both of them.
CRACK.
Under the immense pressure, spiderweb fissures split the ground beneath their feet.
"Ghk!"
So Ok-rim's arm muscles swelled to twice their size, veins bulging grotesquely.
"HAAAP!"
With a fierce shout, she thrust her hands outward—
BOOM!
The Astral Energy Barrier exploded outward, shattering the sphere into black fragments that scattered in all directions.
"Are you alright?"
Only then did she sense the internal injuries Bu Eun-seol had sustained. Her eyes snapped to the monstrous figure, and she bellowed in fury.
"You—you turned him into a damn rag?!"
KWAANG!
A violent shockwave erupted from her entire body, lifting nearby stones into the air.
So Ok-rim was a master of Fist Technique, someone who always crushed her enemies with her bare hands.
But she could feel it—this monster was no ordinary opponent.
Not if it could injure Bu Eun-seol.
So, for once, she opted for a ranged attack.
ZZZING.
The light radiating from her palms compressed, smaller and smaller, until sparks of lightning and tongues of flame flickered within.
Finally, the light condensed into a sphere no larger than a bean—
"EAT THIS!"
KWAaaaang—!
A colossal Palm Energy erupted from her hands, unleashing a visible shockwave—eerily similar to the Buddhist Venerable's Limitless Power, the Vajra Annihilation Wave.
Click.
The monster merely tilted its head and extended a single finger.
The two forces collided midair.
A deafening explosion tore through the heavens as light and darkness clashed in a swirling vortex.
The shockwave blasted outward for li upon li, sweeping dust into the sky.
SHIIIK.
So Ok-rim was forced back a step, a thin trail of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
But the monster remained standing, gazing down at her like a victor.
"YOU ARROGANT LITTLE SHIT!" she roared.
"Stop wagging your damn finger and fight me properly!"
"So Ok-rim."
"Stay out of it. I can handle this alone."
"Its Soul-Demon Magic Energy is spiraling out of control."
"Soul-Demon Magic Energy?"
Instead of answering, Bu Eun-seol pointed upward.
So Ok-rim looked up—
And froze.
High in the sky loomed a Demon God Statue, larger than a mountain range, with three heads.
Its pitch-black skin gleamed like metal, rivulets of blood oozing down its surface.
Above its heads hung a black sun, warping the sky around it as if devouring the heavens.
It was the very embodiment of Final Extinction.
Even the fearless So Ok-rim stood rigid, lips parting in shock.
"What... is that?"
SCREEEEEEE—!
Then, all three mouths opened at once, unleashing a deep, resonant howl that shook the earth.
A monstrous cry, as if heralding the end of all things.
Simultaneously, the Demon God Statue's maw gaped wide—
And a waterfall of darkness, like a storm of black stars, cascaded down.
So Ok-rim stood motionless, watching the torrent of black radiance descend.
It was an inescapable force—Death itself, a decree from an absolute being.
Just as the black deluge was about to engulf her—
FLASH!
Light erupted from Bu Eun-seol's pupils.
At the same time, a vortex of luminous energy surged from his body, as if the breath of heaven and earth had awakened within him.
KOO-RUNG.
Thunder rumbled overhead as a colossal current of energy condensed into a single point.
The winds howled, the sky shifted—
And from the center, five beams of light unfurled.
Azure, crimson, gold, white, and black—
They intertwined, unraveled, and tangled again, beginning to take shape into something.
Crrrrrrrrruuuuuuumble.
Scale by scale, shimmering like starlight—from the tip of its tail to the horns upon its head—a resplendent radiance of five colors coalesced.
The form of a mystical dragon began devouring the cascading torrent of energy.
Just as the pure, unadulterated force of the Soul-Demon Magic Energy, impossible to block by Martial Arts alone, came pouring down—
Alongside the Manifestation Art Energy, the power of the Heavenly Might Star, long dormant within Baekri Geom-ha's psyche, awakened at last.