Chapter 1193
"Hmm? Why?"
When So Ok-rim asked, Bu Eun-seol responded with a grave expression.
"I've been to a place similar to this before."
As Bu Eun-seol briefly explained the circumstances at that time, So Ok-rim shook her head.
"That can't be. I've entered this place many times myself."
Fortunately, the Sacred Flower Hidden Residence wasn't a place where the flow of time differed from the outside world.
"I see. That's a relief."
What if, by some mischance, he lost contact with the Death Soul Squad for an extended period?
The Death Soul Squad might mistakenly assume that, like other intelligence operatives, he had met with misfortune while investigating the desert tribes.
In that case, emergency protocols would be activated to search for him.
Such movements could provide other intelligence organizations with an opportunity to uncover the Death Soul Squad's information network.
That was something to be avoided at all costs.
"Let's hurry inside."
As the two walked side by side for a while, numerous pavilions came into view in the distance.
Each was composed entirely of smooth curves without a single sharp edge or seam, and the structures themselves emitted a faint glow.
It didn't seem like a place where people could live.
'Now that I think about it.'
Suddenly noticing dragon-scale patterns covering the rooftops, Bu Eun-seol let out a deep sigh.
'I need to make a contract with the Primordial Dragon soon.'
By now, Baekri Ye-ha would be quietly gathering forces to prepare for her eventual return to the Baekri Clan while avoiding the surveillance of the fake Baekri Geom-ha.
He needed to contract with the Primordial Dragon and enter the Baekri Clan as soon as possible.
"Those are the mechanical devices that sustain the Hidden Estate."
Seeing Bu Eun-seol pause while looking at the rooftops, So Ok-rim calmly explained, assuming he was curious about the pavilions.
"There's nowhere for people to rest, and inside, it's filled with all sorts of wondrous mechanisms."
"I see."
"To reach the place where the Secret Vault is, we must pass through three gates."
After walking for some time, So Ok-rim pointed to a long bridge now visible before them.
"That Heart Sword Bridge filters out those who carry Evil Thoughts—such as killing intent, suspicion, or greed—which are incompatible with the Sacred Flower Hidden Residence."
She continued,
"If someone like that attempts to cross, the bridge will vanish instantly..."
Before she could finish, Bu Eun-seol stepped forward and crossed the bridge in the blink of an eye.
"As expected!"
Seeing him pass the first gate with such ease, So Ok-rim beamed brightly and ran after him.
"The whole world knows you're free of greed and Evil Thoughts. Of course."
After walking further, they came upon a massive wall.
The wall, through which a transparent light flowed and occasional jade-colored sparks flickered, looked so solid that not even hundreds of thousands of guan of gunpowder detonated at once could shatter it.
"This is the Shadowless Heavenly Wall. It's a barrier that can never be broken or passed through by force."
So Ok-rim wore a worried expression.
"If you get too close, past wounds will resurface and torment you. And if you can't overcome them... you'll remain trapped in the illusion, walking an endless path for the rest of your life."
Then, in a bitter voice, she added,
"It took me a month or so of preparation to pass through the Shadowless Heavenly Wall. Because there are pains in my heart that can never be healed."
The Three Pure Realms of Tibet had been destroyed by a mysterious Master, and the teachers who had raised her since childhood had been brutally slaughtered.
Because So Ok-rim had chosen revenge, she couldn't easily pass the Shadowless Heavenly Wall's trial, which amplified painful memories.
"What preparations did you make during that month or so?"
"I forcibly trained myself in techniques to steady my mind, that's all."
So Ok-rim spoke as if it were nothing.
"Until I properly mastered the Sacred Flower Secret Manual, I couldn't take my revenge."
For the sake of revenge—
paradoxically, she had continued her training while learning to control even her thirst for vengeance.
"Are you alright now?"
"Of course."
So Ok-rim grinned, flashing her large front teeth as if it were nothing.
Watching her childlike smile, Bu Eun-seol sighed deeply to himself.
'She hides her sorrow behind a bright facade.'
He could guess that So Ok-rim carried unhealed pain and anguish in her heart.
Because he was the same.
To avoid hurting the hearts of those precious to him.
Though he had never once forgotten his revenge, he had always acted as though he had.
"I see."
Muttering softly, Bu Eun-seol stepped toward the Shadowless Heavenly Wall.
"Wait, I'll teach you the technique to steady your mind. Someone like you could master it in about three days."
"No need."
Bu Eun-seol smiled faintly.
"I've grown weary of enduring such things."
Having wandered the Martial World all this time, he had broken through countless Mechanism Formations.
Among them were traps that pierced through one's Spirit and Mind, forcing them to relive past nightmares.
For Bu Eun-seol, who had endlessly revisited the most excruciating pain in the world—his grandfather's death—
a gate that forcibly dredged up past suffering was nothing at all.
Step, step.
The moment he entered the Shadowless Heavenly Wall, illusions flashed before his eyes.
Surprisingly, they were not memories of anguish or sorrow.
They were the happiest days of his life. A time when his soul had been endlessly pure and brimming with joy.
'So that's how it is.'
His gaze grew infinitely desolate. He had finally realized the true nature of the Shadowless Heavenly Wall.
Loss.
The most agonizing pain in the world was—
the loss of hope, like a single ray of light that had briefly pierced the pitch-black darkness.
The crushing realization that the warmth he had once known would never be his again.
For a moment, Bu Eun-seol's expression twisted in pain, but soon, he steadied himself and continued forward.
This sense of loss... was something he had already endured countless times long ago.
There was nothing left for him to lose anymore.
Flash!
Having calmly weathered the pain of loss, a brilliant light appeared in the distance.
As he passed through the light, the scenery of the Hidden Estate gradually came into view once more.
The second gate had been cleared just as easily.
"Wow."
So Ok-rim let out an exclamation of admiration.
She had known Bu Eun-seol's Spirit and Mind were unshakable, but—
the Shadowless Heavenly Wall's gate had its limits even for those who merely maintained steadfast resolve.
Because it didn't just inflict pain—it slowly eroded one's Spirit and Mind, starting from their warmest, happiest memories.
Yet he had overcome even that suffering in a single breath?
"I was prepared to forcibly pull you out if needed."
So Ok-rim clicked her tongue in amazement.
"I didn't expect you to pass through in one go."
Even in the face of her praise, Bu Eun-seol remained impassive as he asked,
"But isn't it a stretch to say the Hidden Estate chooses people based on something like this?"
The two gates were merely tests—one for the integrity of one's heart, the other for the resilience of one's Spirit and Mind.
It still didn't prove her claim that the Hidden Estate itself selected its entrants.
"Do you really think I'd lie?"
So Ok-rim strode ahead again.
Finally, the end of the path came into view, and—
a massive gate appeared before them, its surface engraved with celestial patterns that seemed to depict the movements of heavenly bodies.
"This is what I meant—the place where the Hidden Estate chooses its people."
So Ok-rim sniffed.
"Only those who can perfectly harmonize with the energy of the Sacred Flower Hidden Residence can enter beyond this point."
Crossing her arms, she spoke with a grave expression.
"You could say it's a trial of fate itself."
"Has anyone else entered this place before?"
"No one."
...But for some reason, she averted her gaze.
She was clearly lying.
"And if something goes wrong?"
"Who knows?"
"So, Instructor."
When Bu Eun-seol's expression turned stern, she had no choice but to answer.
"You get... split apart."
"Split apart? What do you mean?"
So Ok-rim let out a carefree chuckle.
"Split apart means exactly that—you get torn to pieces. Hahaha."
Her laughter was so natural that Bu Eun-seol nearly laughed along.
"In simpler terms, if the Hidden Estate doesn't choose you, you die."
"Well, yes, but—"
So Ok-rim's eyes sparkled.
"I believe in you. I'm absolutely certain nothing like that will happen."
Bu Eun-seol sighed as he looked into her confident eyes.
She genuinely believed he could pass through the gate.
'Perhaps this is a gate that identifies those of the Baekri Clan's bloodline.'
Truthfully, Bu Eun-seol wasn't particularly worried.
The Three Pure Realms were successors to the Baekri Clan's legacy, and he himself was a descendant of their bloodline.
Even if the Hidden Estate didn't choose him, there would be no trap here that would harm a descendant of the Baekri Clan.
"Shall we go, then?"
As So Ok-rim grinned, Bu Eun-seol nodded.
Rumble—
But the moment he opened the gate and stepped inside, a gut instinct told him something had gone terribly wrong.
The moment he entered, the strength drained from his fingertips—
and a sensation as though his entire body were crumbling apart spread through him all at once.
'Oh no.'
In that instant, he realized he had forgotten one crucial fact.
He was indeed a descendant of the Baekri Clan... but he had also inherited the bloodline of the True Demon.
Crack.
His bones twisted, and a searing pain—as if his entire back were burning—spread from the base of his skull down his spine and across the rear of his body.
Centered on his Hundred Meetings acupoint, it wasn't a split between left and right, but a cleaving force tearing him apart along the front and back.
Is it trying to forcibly carve out the half of me that carries the True Demon's blood?
The blade-like energy surging from within struck vertically downward from his Hundred Meetings, attempting to split his body in two along its length.
What if he couldn't withstand this force?
The back half of his body would be cleanly severed.
No way...
A bizarre thought abruptly unfolded in his mind.
The corpse of the false True Heaven Emperor, which he had once seen in the underground of the Murim Alliance's Pratyekabuddha Hall.
Had that person, like him, been born with dual bloodlines—or perhaps artificially fused like the Saint—only to be split apart while attempting to pass through this final gate of the Sacred Flower Hidden Residence?
No time for speculation.
If he couldn't shatter or resist this force, he too would end up like that corpse—his body cleanly halved.
"Ughhh..."
Yet no matter how much strength he mustered, for some reason, he couldn't resist the vertical pressure crushing down on his Hundred Meetings.
Drip.
Blood began trickling from the crown of his head.
Soon, he wouldn't even be able to struggle—his body would be cleanly bisected.
"Bu Eun-seol!"
So Ok-rim, sensing something had gone terribly wrong, sprinted toward him.
Splatter.
But as she did, blood also seeped from herHundred Meetings, and the same splitting agony tore through her body as if she, too, were being cleaved in two.
"Why?!"
She was stunned.
Though she hadn't fully mastered the Sacred Flower Secret Manual, she was undeniably the successor of the Three Pure Realms.
Moreover, she had already been acknowledged by the Hidden Estate—she had come and gone here multiple times without restriction.
So why, all of a sudden, was the estate trying to rend her apart as well?
Is it because I brought him in?
The reason eluded her.
What mattered was that Bu Eun-seol's body was on the verge of being torn in half.
"No...!"
Gritting through the pain, she rushed forward, arms outstretched, and wrapped herself around him from behind in a desperate embrace.
Taller than him by a full head, she could envelop him completely.
"Don't hurt him!"
Her shout changed nothing.
Instead, the force crushing Bu Eun-seol now bore down on her as well.
"Ugh—"
The pain of her body being torn apart intensified, and the blood flowing from her Hundred Meetings thickened.
The pressure on her skull was so immense she could almost feel herself splitting.
But worse than the physical agony was the torment spreading through her spirit and mind.
As the crushing force grew stronger, a terrifying sensation overwhelmed her—as if everything that made her So Ok-rim was being dismantled, thread by thread.
My memories...
The days of learning martial arts from her grandfathers, the thrill of stepping into the Martial World, and... the time she had spent with Bu Eun-seol.
Every strand of memory was being forcibly unraveled, vanishing one by one.
Everything was slipping away.
Is this... what death feels like?
Yet deeper than the fear of death was another terror—the thought of Bu Eun-seol's warmth disappearing, his very existence erased from the world.
She could never allow him to die because of her.
"No. Absolutely not!"
Clutching the last remnants of her consciousness, she clung to a single thought amidst the scattering fragments of her mind:
Protect Bu Eun-seol.
It was a blind, almost foolishly pure resolve.
Even as her body fractured, she tightened her embrace and channeled every ounce of the Sacred Flower Secret Manual she had cultivated into him.
Since the Sacred Flower Secret Manual was the power of this Hidden Residence,
Using her own body as a vessel, she poured everything into him, as if trying to contain his unraveling existence within herself.
My body must become his shield.
She made her decision.
If her soul had to be torn apart to become his barrier, she would do so willingly.
Meanwhile, deep within the abyss of Bu Eun-seol's fading consciousness, a faint ripple of energy flowed in.
It was a pain different from what he was feeling—strangely warm and tender in its intensity.
Without a doubt, it was So Ok-rim's emotions.
Even amidst the waves of agony that threatened to tear her body apart, she was pouring warmth into Bu Eun-seol's spirit and mind.
'Instructor So.'
Not only was Bu Eun-seol feeling the pain So Ok-rim was enduring—
but also the reason she clung to him despite her flesh tearing and bones twisting, her emotions flowing into him unfiltered.
—Transfer all the pain to me.
And what flowed into him wasn't just her will.
It was the memories she held in her mind—memories of Bu Eun-seol.
The clumsy wariness when they first met.
The small joys they shared together.
The nights she secretly nursed wounds from his careless words.
The moments her heart sank seeing him lonely and despondent.
And... even the smiles she secretly wore while watching his profile.
So Ok-rim's memories and emotions, shattered into fragments, were pouring into his consciousness.
—I like you.
A feeling she had never voiced, had desperately hidden—now surged like a tidal wave, shaking Bu Eun-seol's very soul.
Behind her usual boisterous laughter and seemingly indifferent demeanor—
lay a deep and pure affection.
Bu Eun-seol could feel it.
To protect him, So Ok-rim was burning everything she had—
even her most precious memories, her very existence, her soul—without hesitation.
Guided only by blind devotion, she was standing against the endless darkness of annihilation.
'I can't let her bear this pain.'
In that instant, a blue light flickered in Bu Eun-seol's left eye, while a dark crimson flame ignited in his right.
So Ok-rim's purest affection had cleared his mind, even as his Hundred Meetings acupoint threatened to split from the agony.
Krrrr—KWA-KOOM!
Unconsciously, he simultaneously unleashed Manifestation Art Energy and Soul-Demon Magic Energy, resisting the power of the Sacred Flower Hidden Residence.
Whoooosh—
His body, now wreathed in dark blue flames, absorbed all the pain So Ok-rim was meant to endure.
But this act was no different from destroying his own body from within.
Crunch.
A sound like something shattering inside echoed, but Bu Eun-seol paid it no mind, shielding her regardless.
"Don't do this."
So Ok-rim, sensing it too, tightened her embrace around him.
"I can endure it."
Suddenly, a pure white light radiated from her body.
She was neither of the Baekri Clan's lineage nor the True Demon's—just a pure human.
That pure, intense vitality—
Her blind love for him—
Gently enveloped the two conflicting energies raging within his body.
KRUNG—KRRRRR!
Then, thunder roared from somewhere, and a dazzling light poured down.
That light turned scarlet and began absorbing into their bodies.
But Bu Eun-seol and So Ok-rim, each struggling to take the other's pain upon themselves—
did not even notice.
How much time had passed?
Chirp, chirp-chirp-chirp!
Somewhere, birdsong rang out. A crisp, cool breeze brushed against them.
"...!"
Bu Eun-seol, who had lost consciousness while holding her, suddenly opened his eyes.
Startled, he looked around.
Everywhere, flowers bloomed in full splendor. Birds sang, and animals frolicked about.
It was a scene straight out of Wuling Paradise.
"Am I... dead?"
He blinked in confusion.
Hadn't they just entered the third gate of the Sacred Flower Hidden Residence? Why did it look like heaven?
"Who... died?"
Then, a voice like rolling jade beads reached his ears.
When Bu Eun-seol turned his head, he saw a woman of indescribable beauty—
clinging to his back like glue, her arms wrapped tightly around him.
In that brief moment, his body had gone numb, so he hadn't even sensed her presence.
"Who are you?"
"Hm?"
Only then did the woman open her tightly shut eyes.
Her pupils, deep and beautiful like gazing into a clear lake, met his.
"Eh?"
She stared blankly at Bu Eun-seol's face, so close their noses nearly touched, then blinked her large eyes.
"Are you okay?"
She slid down from his back and stood facing him—
then reached out, pinching his cheeks left and right before parting his lips slightly.
For a moment, Bu Eun-seol felt dizzy.
He had just realized—
the breathtakingly beautiful woman standing before him was none other than—
"Instructor So?"
The woman whose beauty defied description—was So Ok-rim.