Chapter 1237
The Empress Dowager's recent cruel trials and traps had unexpectedly provided another opportunity to obtain critical information.
―We've uncovered intelligence related to the Eighteen Radiant Souls.
The Martial Alliance's covert intelligence division had mobilized to investigate the affairs of the Yangguan Branch.
In the aftermath, a temporary vulnerability had emerged in their security system.
The Death Soul Squad seized that opening without hesitation.
They managed to acquire a portion of the intelligence managed by the Martial Alliance's secretive organization.
And within that information were records pertaining to the Eighteen Radiant Souls.
―There was a record stating that the late master Hyeonmyeongja had left behind the words "Eighteen Radiant Souls" before being secretly assassinated.
According to the intelligence, Hyeonmyeongja had been investigating the Cheonru Bang, a shadowy faction composed of martial world criminals.
During that process, he had left the term "Eighteen Radiant Souls" with his close friend, Somusaeng, before taking his own life.
Not long after, Somusaeng was also killed for unknown reasons.
―Cheonru Bang, huh.
The fact that the Eighteen Radiant Souls had remained hidden all this time...
Perhaps they were closely tied to the underworld factions, those who operated outside the martial world's mainstream powers.
―Recently, the commercial district around Pogang has been expanding, and there is information suggesting it is connected to the Cheonru Bang.
Regardless of the truth behind it...
The current martial world was in an era of unprecedented peace, with almost no power struggles between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions. Thanks to that, the Upper Realm remained undisturbed and flourished greatly.
It was highly probable that the secretive organization linked to the Eighteen Radiant Souls was also using the Upper Realm to expand their influence and sustain their operations.
―We continued our investigation, but so far, we have found nothing.
Upon hearing the Death Soul Squad's report, Bu Eun-seol immediately took action.
―I will investigate personally.
His top priorities now were the destruction of the Martial Alliance, which was connected to the murderer of his grandfather...
And uncovering the truth behind the Eighteen Radiant Souls.
If even the Death Soul Squad, after dedicating so much time, had found no leads—then there was something deeply, meticulously hidden.
He intended to investigate personally and shorten that time, even if only by a day.
After leaving the Demon Hall, Bu Eun-seol disguised himself in an ordinary appearance and surveyed the Pogang area to assess the situation.
The bustling marketplace, filled with merchants loudly hawking their wares, appeared no different from usual.
But...
'Something's off.'
As he wandered through the Bu Estate, he couldn't shake a growing sense of unease.
'Why are there so many dumpling shops?'
Normally, there were never more than one or two shops selling handmade dumplings in a marketplace.
The commercial districts of the streets had strict unwritten rules.
If one dumpling shop established itself, it was customary for competitors to avoid setting up nearby.
Moreover, foods like dumplings were typically sold in back alleys or humble taverns—not in upscale shopping districts.
Yet here, amidst the Bu Estate's refined shops selling silk, tea, medicinal herbs, and books...
Dumpling shop banners fluttered in the wind?
'There's something here.'
Entering one of the dumpling shops, he ordered a single dumpling.
Upon tasting it, he found it utterly ordinary—neither exceptional nor lacking, just the kind commonly found in any market.
Bu Eun-seol immediately headed to the next dumpling shop.
And like a man possessed, he tirelessly bought and ate dumplings without pause.
The second shop. The third. The fourth...
By the time the sun reached its zenith, he had visited twelve different dumpling shops.
"They're all the same."
Bu Eun-seol muttered in a low voice, rubbing his swollen stomach.
"The taste."
Dumplings were simple food, but...
Their flavor varied subtly from shop to shop, heavily influenced by the maker's touch.
Yet every single dumpling he had sampled so far...
From the quality of ingredients to the proportions and steaming time—were nearly identical, with almost no discernible difference.
'This is impossible unless someone deliberately standardized the recipe.'
That night...
Bu Eun-seol concealed himself on a rooftop across from one of the Bu Estate's dumpling shops.
It was a moonless, pitch-black night, but his eyes pierced through the darkness, observing every detail with perfect clarity.
Having found no leads at all...
He had resolved to stake out one of the suspicious dumpling shops overnight.
Clack, clack.
Around two in the morning, a cart began making rounds to the dumpling shops.
A faint circular emblem stamped on one of the sacks caught his eye.
'Following the cart might be better.'
No unusual activity could be sensed from the darkened dumpling shop.
In that case, investigating the cart making deliveries would be more productive.
Whoosh.
Unleashing his movement technique like lightning, Bu Eun-seol stealthily pursued the cart.
Soon, he discovered multiple carts making rounds, each heading to different dumpling shops.
The cart-pushers' gait, the way the sacks were tied, even the creaking of the wheels—everything was identical.
'They belong to the same faction.'
As he approached a small warehouse at the end of the alley where the carts were headed, he saw stacks of ingredients through the crack in the door.
Meaning there was only one supply source.
While scouting the warehouse perimeter, Bu Eun-seol spotted a small wooden plaque hanging on the wall.
Carved upon it was the character for "white", its right stroke twisted in an unnatural manner.
'This is beyond what even the Death Soul Squad could detect.'
That distorted stroke—
—had been altered with such extreme subtlety that only someone operating at the very limits of extrasensory perception could possibly notice it.
'They're transmitting secret language through the characters themselves.'
If this were just an ordinary dumpling shop?
There would be no need to modify characters to convey hidden messages. Something was definitely amiss.
'It indicates direction.'
The twisted stroke in the "white" character was unmistakably pointing the way.
Following the direction of the distorted stroke, Bu Eun-seol ran without pause until another warehouse came into view.
This time, however, there was no wooden plaque, nor any other visible markings.
But then—
—a sharp, bitter scent pricked at his nostrils.
'These aren't ingredients meant for dumplings.'
Inside the warehouse were large sacks and bamboo baskets filled with what appeared to be cheap medicinal herbs.
'Supplies for an apothecary, perhaps?'
He scrutinized the materials closely but found no further clues.
Then, suddenly—
—he noticed something unnatural about the weave of a bamboo basket holding dried herbs and grains.
Between the crisscrossing bamboo slats, certain darker strips had been deliberately arranged, forming a peculiar pattern.
To an ordinary eye, it might have looked like the careless mistake of an unskilled craftsman.
But to Bu Eun-seol, it resembled the boundary lines separating blocked paths from open ones in a village.
'The twisted stroke points the direction, and the basket's pattern marks the detailed route.'
Yet something was off.
If there truly was an organization behind these dumpling shops, they would go to great lengths to conceal their information and hide their base.
So why leave behind such traces, allowing outsiders to track them?
'A cell structure.'
By giving only simple instructions—go in the direction the character indicates, follow the pattern's shape—
—the couriers would move without ever knowing their final destination, blindly following the signs before them.
'Impressive.'
Even the Death Soul Squad, whose intelligence-gathering prowess was unmatched,
—would have dismissed this as nothing more than poorly written signage or sloppily made baskets.
Since completely erasing their traces was impossible, and they still needed to move supplies—
—they had devised an ingenious method: visible to insiders, invisible to outsiders.
'Only those trained to a certain level of sensory acuity would recognize these minute differences as signals.'
Having found his lead, Bu Eun-seol swiftly navigated the alleyways, tracing the basket's pattern.
But then—
—an eerie presence brushed against his senses.
He halted his movement technique and stood still.
In the distance, a shadowy figure carrying a bamboo box was slowly approaching.
Stuck into the box were various talisman-like flags—
—resembling the wandering exorcists of the now-defunct Mount Mao Sect, who once roamed the land banishing evil spirits to scrape by a meager living.
"Wow."
The woman carrying the box—likely in her thirties—
—stared intently at Bu Eun-seol's disguised face before suddenly thrusting out her thumb.
"Pretty impressive, huh?"
Bu Eun-seol's eyes narrowed.
Not only had her body's qi been so perfectly concealed that he had only sensed her presence belatedly—
—but she had also spotted him, a figure over six feet tall in the dead of night, and was now ambling toward him as if greeting an old friend?
This was no ordinary exorcist.
"Really impressive."
Her eyes widened, and she craned her neck forward, scrutinizing Bu Eun-seol's disguised face as if staring through him.
She blinked rapidly, rolling her eyes like someone who had just stumbled upon a rare treasure.
"What's the matter with you?"
Bu Eun-seol felt an inexplicable prickle of unease.
Was it possible she had seen through the Darkness Secret Arts?
"I've never seen someone with such pure spiritual energy before."
She let out an admiring sigh and stuck out her thumb again.
"Your ancestors must've blessed you generously. If you devote yourself sincerely, things will go even smoother for you."
Bu Eun-seol exhaled in disbelief.
Wasn't this the exact kind of drivel the cultists of the Eternal Life Sect spouted when recruiting gullible villagers?
"I don't believe in ancestral spirits."
He turned to leave.
But the exorcist quickly closed the distance and spoke again.
"How about we share a cup of tea at the teahouse up ahead and chat?"
"What teahouse would be open at this ungodly hour?"
With those words, he activated his movement technique and swiftly departed.
Following the basket's pattern, he traveled for some time until—
—a small hut, slightly removed from Chengdu, came into view.
'Is that their base?'
His eyes narrowed as he observed it carefully.
'The dumpling shop couple?'
The people living there were none other than—
—the very same couple who ran one of the dumpling shops Bu Eun-seol had visited earlier.
'There must be something here.'
He watched them intently.
But there wasn't the slightest trace of anything unusual, nor did the small hut appear to hold anything out of the ordinary.
"Wow."
Just then, the female Taoist he'd seen earlier suddenly appeared beside Bu Eun-seol, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him before letting out an exclamation.
"What kind of person is he, to have killed so many people? He's practically a walking evil spirit!"
Bu Eun-seol's expression flickered with surprise.
Even though he had executed the Three Stars level of Swift Shadowless,
his movements left no traces behind—making it nearly impossible for even an expert in Tracking Arts to follow him.
And yet, she had arrived here not long after he did.
Meaning, she had tracked his movements and followed him here, all without his Extrasensory Perception detecting her approach.
"Why are you following me?"
"No, look closely."
The woman deflected the question, pointing instead at the husband.
"See how many people that man has killed."
Bu Eun-seol furrowed his brow and studied the husband again.
With his stern demeanor and face like carved stone, the man seemed perfectly ordinary—solid, even.
But to have killed countless people?
Moreover, there were no signs he had ever trained in martial arts—
No. Wait.
Bu Eun-seol soon noticed something strange.
Though there were no calluses on his hands or traces of martial training anywhere on his body...
His eyes.
A cold, ruthless glint—the kind only found in those who had slaughtered lives beyond counting—flickered faintly beneath the surface.
Having survived the Asura Battlefield himself, Bu Eun-seol recognized that gaze instantly.
"I see."
Nodding, he turned back to the woman.
"How exactly did you know?"
"His spirit is tainted."
"You can see souls?"
"Does that sound like a lie to you?"
Her pupils were so clear they almost seemed to shimmer with something unsettling—something bordering on madness.
But she's no villain.
Bu Eun-seol had an instinctive sense for distinguishing good from evil.
And ever since his encounter with the Empress Dowager,
after unlocking the new capabilities of Bloody Tears Seven Forms,
his ability to perceive the aura of malice had grown even sharper.
This woman before him was bold and enigmatic, but one thing was certain—she carried the energy of virtue.
"Regardless, I have business to attend to."
Bu Eun-seol fixed her with a guarded stare.
"Do not interfere."
The female Taoist merely pressed her lips together, offering only an innocent smile in response.
Sighing, Bu Eun-seol immediately shot toward the hut.
And struck the couple's acupoints.
Now that he knew something was amiss, there was no need to waste time—he would subdue them at once and pry whatever information he could about the Eighteen Radiant Souls.
But then, the unexpected happened.
"Ghk—!"
As if bound by a Restrictive Seal,
the moment her acupoints were struck, the wife vomited blood—then collapsed, dead.
Thud.
Unlike his wife, the husband's acupoints refused to be sealed at all.
Not only that—
Crack.
When struck by Finger Wind, the man's neck tilted unnaturally to the side, his complexion turning as pale as a corpse's.
Sensing something deeply wrong, Bu Eun-seol unleashed another wave of Finger Wind, attempting to suppress his acupoints again—
Snap.
But it felt like striking petrified wood—his acupoints still wouldn't seal.
"A Great Art?"
His Finger Wind could pierce even steel.
For an ordinary dumpling shop owner to withstand it—
unless he had cultivated the Vajra Indestructibility body technique, this shouldn't have been possible.
Creak.
The man slowly stepped forward, his neck still bent at an unnatural angle, his face corpse-pale.
No emotion flickered in his eyes.
If it's the power of a Supernatural Ability or Great Art, there's no need to hold back.
Zzzzt—!
Bu Eun-seol immediately summoned the power of World and Realm Annihilation, dissolving the immense energy radiating from the man's body.
Or at least, he should have dissolved it.
Yet the man continued forward, his expression blank, before slowly raising his hand—
Shhk.
Something white flashed past Bu Eun-seol's neck, accompanied by a chilling gust.
In that instant, it felt like plunging into icy water—
a terrifying Yin-Cold Energy surged through his meridians.
This isn't a Supernatural Ability.
What this man wielded was neither a Supernatural Ability nor any kind of Great Art—
but the most natural force of martial arts, something that existed inherently in the world itself.
Swish! Hiss!
His skin now as pale as powdered lime, the man swung his arm with mechanical precision.
The sight was something straight out of a nightmare—grotesque, unnatural.
If I can't subdue him, this is pointless.
Killing him wouldn't be difficult.
But if he couldn't extract any clues from this man?
Then he'd have no choice but to rely on the Death Soul Squad, spending who knew how long investigating the secrets of this dumpling shop.
"Need some help?"
Just then, the female Taoist's voice rang out from behind him.
She had risen onto the roof, her tone light and friendly.
"That one isn't human, you know. Ordinary martial arts won't work on him."
"Not human? What do you mean?"
In response to Bu Eun-seol's question, she pulled a talisman from her sleeve and spoke in a low voice.
"His soul already belongs to the Ghost Gate—neither dead nor alive."
FWAP!
The talisman shot forth and instantly adhered to the man's forehead. With a sharp thud, his movements froze.
It was the lost art of Taoist Sideways Magic—a technique long thought extinct in the martial world.
"In ancient times, they called beings like these Half-Spirit Beings," the female Taoist said with a soft tap as she descended from the roof, smiling at Bu Eun-seol.
"With the talisman attached, he shouldn't be able to move anymo—"
Before her words could finish—
WHOOSH!
Flames erupted from the talisman stuck to the man's body, and in the next instant, he swung his arm toward her.
"Ah!"
Startled, the woman hastily flung more talismans.
FWAP-FWAP-FWAP!
This time, six talismans struck his forehead, chest, and limbs—
WHOOSH!
Yet again, flames burst forth, consuming them in an instant.
"I must've expended too much Divine Power coming out here..."
Muttering something unintelligible, the Taoist drew a peachwood sword from her waist and slashed at the man.
SHIIING! SHIIING!
Each strike sent him reeling back amid sparks, but he still refused to be subdued.
"I'll handle it."
Bu Eun-seol, who had been silently observing, raised the Ink Soul Sword to mid-stance.
SCREEEECH!
Accompanied by the wail of a vengeful ghost, the ink-black sword energy pierced the man's elbow as he reached out.
He had executed the Bloody Tears Seven Forms, severing the right arm.
SCHLICK.
Though his wrist was cleanly severed, the man didn't stop—he lunged at the Taoist again.
'So it's true—he really isn't among the living.'
Bu Eun-seol had deliberately used the Bloody Tears Seven Forms to confirm the truth of the Half-Spirit Being claim.
By all logic, a strike from that blade should have drained a massive chunk of his vitality—
Yet the man moved like a corpse long dead.
No blood spilled from the severed arm. No life force diminished.
"No choice, then."
If this was the case, the only option left was complete destruction of the body.
"HAAAP!"
At that moment, the cornered Taoist bit her finger and flicked the blood onto the man's forehead.
SSSSSS—
White smoke billowed up—
And slowly, pupils formed in his previously vacant eyes.
"Without Divine Power, I have no choice but to use my own life force!"
SSSS—
But the blood on his forehead evaporated almost instantly, and the man grew even more frenzied.
"Tch."
The Taoist gritted her teeth.
"To think they could refine a Half-Spirit Being to this level..."
Watching her struggle, Bu Eun-seol realized the key to subduing the creature.
"Then the solution is to use the power of life?"
Life force.
For a being trapped between life and death, straddling the Ghost Gate, only the energy of life itself would work.
"That's correct, but it's slightly different from the Primordial Essence True Qi martial artists use. Only pure life force can—"
Before she could finish, an emerald glow erupted beneath Bu Eun-seol's feet, spreading in all directions as motes of five-colored light scattered like fireflies.
THUMP.
A mystical radiance enveloped his entire body as he gripped the Ink Soul Sword in a reverse stance.
Ink Soul First Form.
The sword technique of life, passed down by his father.
FWOOOOOSH—!
As the blade extended, a warm, sun-like radiance unfurled.
The pale-faced man, still swinging his severed arm, was instantly engulfed—and vanished.
FWAP!
When the light faded, the world regained its color.
"Whoa..."
The Taoist gasped as she watched the lingering motes of light disperse.
"To wield such pure life force through swordplay... This is truly..."
THUD.
The man collapsed heavily to the ground.
His ashen skin had returned to normal, his eyes clear—
But from his mouth, a torrent of hot, fresh blood spilled endlessly.
Though freed from the Ghost Gate by the Ink Soul First Form—
He had lingered there too long. In truth, he was already dead.
"Why... am I...?"
His unfocused eyes wandered.
"Here...?"
His expression made it clear—he had been turned into a Half-Spirit Being without ever knowing.
"Look at me."
Bu Eun-seol stepped forward.
"Who did this to you? Why did they make you open a dumpling shop?"
"Dumpling... shop..."
The man's eyes flickered with recognition before he rasped:
"To make... Human Flowers..."
"Human Flowers?"
Bu Eun-seol's eyes widened.
Flowers cultivated by extracting Essence Blood from humans—something the Three Realms had done in the past. And they were being produced in a dumpling shop?
"Who did this?"
"They..."
The man strained to speak—
GURGLE.
But his eyes bulged as he finally succumbed to death.
'Human Flowers.'
Bu Eun-seol bit his lip.
Only an organization on the scale of the Three Realms could cultivate Human Flowers by draining people's Essence Blood.
The problem was—
If word spread that this dumpling shop owner had died like this?
Every dumpling shop in the Central Plains would shut down overnight. And the forces behind them would vanish without a trace.
Secret societies always protected their secrets—ruthlessly and without hesitation.
"Another endless hunt for clues, then."
Bu Eun-seol exhaled a sigh so deep it could've hollowed the earth.
To uncover the organization controlling these dumpling shops—
He'd have to deploy the Death Soul Squad again, conducting an exhaustive, relentless investigation.
"The Flower Cloud Trading House?"
The Taoist, still staring at the corpse, suddenly spoke up in surprise.
"He said they were the ones who set up the dumpling shop."