Chapter 1243
"Acting, you say?"
Sim Gyeong-yoseon asked in bewilderment.
"What are you suddenly talking about?"
Bu Eun-seol did not answer and instead stared intently at her face.
And he recalled an incident from their past encounter.
—Is there something on my face?
Back when Sim Gyeong-yoseon had been speaking of the Unceasing Demon Patriarch,
she had mistaken Bu Eun-seol's deep contemplation for staring and asked him this.
—You're hiding something.
Though Sim Gyeong-yoseon possessed a transcendent power that allowed her to glimpse the lingering spirits of the dead,
her temperament remained relatively pure, having trained only in Taoist arts in the Deep Mountain Secluded Valley.
The moment her anxious inner thoughts betrayed her and she blurted out those words,
Bu Eun-seol had instantly noticed not only the unnatural tension in her facial muscles but also the fact that she was deliberately concealing something.
—Longing.
Upon closer inspection, Sim Gyeong-yoseon's pupils held a burning, almost innocent longing.
Like that of an eighteen-year-old maiden in full bloom.
Even though she had just asked him to kill her senior martial brother.
"Why... are you looking at me like that?"
At her repeated question, Bu Eun-seol snapped out of his reverie.
And he saw her face, now twisted with extreme unease.
'The truth won't come from her lips.'
Whoosh.
Without answering, Bu Eun-seol turned away.
Once more, he meticulously examined the energy emanating from the rocky cliff.
As he poured his full concentration into spreading his senses, a pale white light began to linger in his pupils.
The power of the Ancient Sword Forest had activated.
In that instant, Bu Eun-seol's vision pierced through—
revealing the colossal figure of the Unceasing Demon Patriarch seated within the cliff, radiating pure and immense demonic energy.
'Just as I thought.'
Through the Demon Seed, he had continuously absorbed the organs of the wicked, truly petrifying himself.
'But what he desires...'
Bu Eun-seol swallowed dryly as the Ancient Sword Forest's eyes discerned the truth.
Molting.
The Unceasing Demon Patriarch was not ascending as an immortal—he was on the verge of rebirth as a colossal Demon God.
However, to shatter the rock encasing him—
the toughest, most impenetrable stone in the world, cloaked in demonic energy—
he needed a single strike imbued with overwhelming life force.
'He can't break this hardened shell on his own.'
A chill ran down his spine.
Sim Gyeong-yoseon had been deceiving him all along.
'Pretending to dissuade me, she wanted me to unleash the Ink Soul First Form on the stone wall immediately.'
Her intentions were clear.
The moment he inspected the cliff,
she feigned urgency—as if the Unceasing Demon Patriarch would awaken unless he struck it down at once—
hoping he would panic and slash at it without discerning the truth.
By creating this desperate scenario,
she expected him to hastily deliver a sword strike before the demonic patriarch could fully awaken.
"You deceived me."
Having calmly grasped the entire situation, Bu Eun-seol looked down at her with solemn eyes.
"Why would you do such a thing?"
"This is a misunderstanding."
Sim Gyeong-yoseon shook her head.
"Why would I lie to you?"
"......"
"Why won't you believe my senior brother's words? Why do you assume I've lied?"
She raised her voice sharply.
"Because he's of the Demonic Path? Does the very idea of him becoming an immortal seem like a lie to you?"
Watching her furious expression,
Bu Eun-seol realized one more thing.
'Her spirit and mind have already been corrupted.'
The Unceasing Demon Patriarch manipulated the hearts of the wicked with a power as fluid as water seeping through rock crevices.
And before anyone noticed, he had seized control of Sim Gyeong-yoseon's very soul.
'No—it was inevitable.'
Bu Eun-seol inwardly sighed.
'This, too, is a trial of affection.'
Sim Gyeong-yoseon had harbored unrequited love for the Unceasing Demon Patriarch since their days as fellow disciples.
But when he turned to the Demonic Path,
she must have suffered like a tragic heroine, lamenting how fate had torn her love apart.
Then, when he returned, defying fate to become an immortal, she would have been overjoyed.
Even if she later realized it was evil, she could no longer resist—she had already submitted to him.
'Opposites, yet drawn to each other...'
The Golden Vajra Demon Ancestor and the Taoist of Emptiness struggled to protect each other's lives,
while the Cloud-Dream Hermit loved the Pale-Handed Demon Empress, staying by her side even while aiding her atrocities.
And now, witnessing the same twisted bond between Sim Gyeong-yoseon and the Unceasing Demon Patriarch,
Bu Eun-seol sensed that immortals and demonic beings were not merely opposing forces.
'The Demonic Heavenly Emperor must have had a reason for wanting me to eliminate them as top priority.'
A man who laced every word with meticulous calculation, turning even the slightest finger movement into an extension of his schemes—
would never seek their annihilation without cause.
—Ugh... Uuugh...
Just then, a grotesque sound seeped from the cliff.
The Unceasing Demon Patriarch, unable to break free from the stone, had begun to moan.
"The Demon Seed was his breathing hole."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes narrowed.
Until now, the Unceasing Demon Patriarch had sustained himself through the fake body of the Stone Sage.
But with that connection severed, trapped in petrification with no way to break free,
he was slowly suffocating—dying without breath.
"Trust me! That man has cultivated himself and become an immortal!"
Sim Gyeong-yoseon cried out desperately.
"Please, I beg you! Just once—just this once, believe me!"
She truly believed—
That the esoteric arts recorded in the Return to Truth Scripture were real, that the Unceasing Demon Patriarch had indeed altered his fate and become an immortal.
That he would shatter his petrified body,
And emerge in a beautiful form to propose to her.
"Immortal Maiden."
Bu Eun-seol regarded her with icy detachment.
"Do you truly believe a man who devoured the livers of the resentful and wicked could sincerely become an immortal?"
"The method of accumulating virtue by eliminating evil has existed since ancient times."
Sim Gyeong-yoseon refused to yield, pleading fervently.
"Please believe me. I can feel it—he has truly become an immortal!"
Thud.
She dropped to her knees.
"Please. Hurry and break the petrification sealing his body."
Then she clasped her hands together, bowing so deeply her fingers scraped the ground.
"If you don't shatter the stone now, he'll suffocate and wither away inside."
"Impossible."
Bu Eun-seol's voice was frigid.
"If a demon of his caliber awakens, not only you, but countless innocents will die."
"Lord—"
"We cannot gamble with human lives."
With that, he turned away coldly.
Sim Gyeong-yoseon bit her lip, hesitating for a long moment—before suddenly pressing her middle and index fingers to her forehead and thrusting them skyward.
Crack-crack-crack!
The bamboo case strapped to her back burst open, and hundreds of talismans surged toward Bu Eun-seol, plastering themselves across his body.
She had affixed every last talisman in her possession onto him.
Zzzziiing—
Millions of luminous motes erupted from Bu Eun-seol's form.
"What is this?"
"I'm sorry."
Blood streamed unceasingly from the corners of Sim Gyeong-yoseon's lips.
She was sacrificing even her own life force—
To transfer the energy within Bu Eun-seol's body to the Unceasing Demon Patriarch trapped in the stone.
"I never wanted to resort to this. But..."
Before she could finish—
Rustle-rustle-rustle.
Every talisman clinging to Bu Eun-seol's body fluttered to the ground.
He had unfurled the Void-Severing Scripture, neutralizing all her sorcery.
Yet he still couldn't move.
Though the energy-transferring spell had been broken,
The binding curse restraining him was fueled by her life force—
Making it impossible to dispel even with the Void-Severing Scripture.
Craaack.
Then—a massive fissure spiderwebbed across the stone wall.
The brief surge of Bu Eun-seol's immense life force had been enough.
The Unceasing Demon Patriarch now had the strength to shatter the stone encasing him.
Rumble-rumble—
The fractured cliff face finally collapsed, and from within—
A radiant white light spilled forth.
So sacred was that glow that Sim Gyeong-yoseon stared at it, entranced.
Step. Step.
From the shattered rock emerged a silhouette wreathed in divine radiance.
A man clad in pristine white robes, his face as pale as jade, his long hair cascading to his waist—
A beauty so striking it bordered on ethereal.
Behind him, white wings unfurled and fluttered—
As though a celestial deity had descended in mortal form.
His deep, mysterious eyes, hidden behind flowing locks, compelled one to gaze endlessly.
"Senior Martial Brother!"
Sim Gyeong-yoseon's face lit up with rapture.
Her unwavering faith and devotion through the long years had not been in vain.
He had returned to her—an immortal with the aura of a heavenly god.
"Senior Martial Brother!"
She flung aside her bamboo case and rushed toward him.
Clutch.
She threw herself into his embrace, clinging with all her strength.
Once, they had been a demon and a saintess—doomed to part.
But for her sake, he had—
Uncovered the Return to Truth Scripture and honed the Great Art for years, severing his demonic ties.
Now, nothing stood between them.
"Thank you, Senior Martial Brother."
Swoosh.
The Unceasing Demon Patriarch gazed at her—then reached out.
His hands gently cupped her cheeks.
"Senior Martial Brother..."
His tender, radiant expression remained as his fingers trailed down to her neck—
Snap.
—And with a single twist, he broke it.
Thud.
Sim Gyeong-yoseon collapsed, her neck grotesquely twisted, her unfocused lips barely whispering:
"Why...?"
"Because you failed. You couldn't fully release me from the petrification."
The white wings behind him were not the mark of a saint—
But the remnants of an incomplete transformation.
"Did you... deceive me?"
"Did you truly believe any man would love a hag draped in filthy Taoist robes?"
His voice was low, mocking.
"When we trained together at Supreme Unity Gate, I endured your repulsiveness because—your interpretations of the Martial Secrets were useful."
But Sim Gyeong-yoseon could no longer answer.
She had already perished.
Such was the wretched end of a foolish saintess who loved a demon.
"Well, half-freed is still freed."
He turned to Bu Eun-seol and grinned.
"I'll just take the remaining life force instead."
Step. Step.
The Unceasing Demon Patriarch approached Bu Eun-seol with a leisurely expression.
Though her breath had ceased, the restraints formed of life energy remained unbroken.
"Truly, this is an extraordinary power."
Pausing briefly, the Unceasing Demon Patriarch savored the power Bu Eun-seol had received through Sim Gyeong-yoseon's Taoist arts.
His greedy eyes lingered on Bu Eun-seol, who stood frozen like a wooden post.
"I knew it ever since you severed the karma of the Pale-Handed Demon Empress and the Cloud-Dream Hermit with a single Sword Form."
The Unceasing Demon Patriarch licked his lips as he slowly advanced toward the immobilized Bu Eun-seol.
"That only you could perfect my True Body by severing the Demon Seed."
The karma of the Seven Great Demon Patriarchs seemed interwoven like a single net.
When Bu Eun-seol had severed their karma with the Ink Soul First Form before killing the Pale-Handed Demon Empress and the Cloud-Dream Hermit,
that severance disrupted the balance of karma, and the ripple effect reached the other Demon Patriarchs.
"Thanks to that, the Fire Soul Land has gradually begun to revive."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes flickered in realization.
He finally understood why the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had ordered him to eliminate the Seven Great Demon Patriarchs.
"So the Seven Great Demon Patriarchs... were tools to seal the Spirit Veins?"
"One of many tools."
The Unceasing Demon Patriarch chuckled darkly.
"By now, the forces of the Poison Spirit Hall have already taken control of the Fire Soul Land."
Flap. Flap.
A faint sound echoed in Bu Eun-seol's ears.
It bore an uncanny resemblance to the flapping of bats summoned by that man from the True Demon Palace—the one he had encountered in his father's Secret Vault.
'Even the Seven Great Demon Ancestors submitted to the True Demon Palace?'
After his encounter with the True Demon Palace's master in his father's Secret Vault, fragments of information about his martial arts realm had reached the Empress Dowager's forces.
"You're transmitting something, aren't you?"
Bu Eun-seol muttered lowly, his gaze fixed in the direction of the flapping sound.
"About me... or what you've learned from me."
"What are you talking about?"
"I heard this sound once before."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes narrowed as he continued.
"After that, people who knew about my martial arts began appearing one by one."
"To deduce that much just from the sound of wings..."
The Unceasing Demon Patriarch bared his teeth in a grin.
"I can't tell if you're brilliant or just imaginative."
His sinister smile widened—
Whoosh!
—before he suddenly lashed out, seizing Bu Eun-seol's head in his massive hand.
"Now, become part of my power."
He yanked upward as if uncorking a bottle.
Crack.
But something strange happened.
Despite exerting enough force to uproot a mountain, Bu Eun-seol's head didn't budge.
Instead, the Unceasing Demon Patriarch felt his own energy draining away.
"How...?"
His face twisted in disbelief.
"Once activated, Sister's Binding Thread Curse should never unravel."
"True."
Bu Eun-seol's expression darkened.
"But in her final moments, she realized her choice had been wrong."
Sim Gyeong-yoseon's lifeless arm was still outstretched toward him.
Seeing the way his gaze had gently caressed her cheek, she must have realized her mistake—
And released the curse just before death.
"Then why pretend to be immobilized?"
"Because demons like you only let your guard down when you think you've won."
Bu Eun-seol stepped forward calmly.
He was already channeling the power of the Void Realm.
The Unceasing Demon Patriarch's abilities had no effect on him now.
"I'll give you one chance."
Bu Eun-seol spoke dispassionately.
"Where is the True Demon Palace? Where is the Poison Spirit Demon Lord?"
"...You think sparing me a painful death is some kind of mercy?"
The Unceasing Demon Patriarch scoffed, as if reading Bu Eun-seol's thoughts.
"Right. Wretches like you would never talk."
Bu Eun-seol drew the Ink Soul Sword, his voice icy.
"Use whatever you have—martial arts or otherwise. Make sure you die without regrets."
The Unceasing Demon Patriarch tried to summon his Demonic Energy.
But all that remained within him was the Internal Power he had cultivated before becoming a demon—and a trace of Divine Power.
"Wait—"
Only now realizing he stood no chance—that he would die—the Unceasing Demon Patriarch trembled in fear.
"I truly wanted to become a saint."
"......"
"The Return to Truth Scripture is real. I just lacked the Divine Power to control the Demonic Energy."
Utterly unbefitting of a demonic patriarch,
he groveled pathetically for his life.
"I studied philosophy and martial arts at the Supreme Unity Gate, but I was never exceptional. Even after awakening as one of the Seven Great Demon Patriarchs, I remained mediocre."
He clasped his hands together.
"In the end, my master said I could only wield true poison by attaining a complete True Body as the Unceasing Demon Patriarch. I had no choice!"
A sigh escaped him unbidden.
Throughout his time in the martial world, he had faced and defeated countless masters.
And they—
Whether petty, narrow-minded, or clinging to bizarre convictions—
maintained the dignity and pride befitting true martial masters.
But those like the Unceasing Demon Patriarch, who were born with innate power without any effort—
The moment their lives were threatened, they revealed their weak nature, devoid of any pride to uphold or conviction worth defending.
Thud.
Bu Eun-seol abruptly halted his steps.
Then slowly turned around.
"N-No, please—!"
Just as the Unceasing Demon Patriarch stretched out his hand—
Splaaash!
A crimson geyser erupted from his throat.
For one of the most feared demonic patriarchs capable of plunging the world into terror, it was an absurdly pitiful end.
Thump.
His headless corpse collapsed atop the lifeless body of Sim Gyeong-yoseon.
Though they had never become one in life, in death, they were united—perhaps offering her vengeful spirit a sliver of solace.
Whoosh.
In an instant, both bodies were engulfed in flames.
Bu Eun-seol had incinerated them together using the Hot River Great Essence True Qi.
Screeeech!
Just then, the cry of a hawk echoed from the distant sky.
It was a messenger falcon raised by the Death Soul Squad.
Flap, flap.
As Bu Eun-seol extended his arm, the large bird descended with a mighty spread of its wings.
"As I suspected."
His eyes narrowed as he untied the letter from its leg and read.
As instructed, with the aid of Merchant Han Sang-ja and Chief Han Jang-ju at West Lake, we investigated the Fire Soul Land.
Furthermore, we confirmed that all sects previously targeted by the Poison Spirit Demon Lord
are being monitored by unknown forces who have planted spies among them.
When Bu Eun-seol first heard that the Unceasing Demon Patriarch was the Poison Spirit Demon Lord's disciple—
And when he realized Sim Gyeong-yoseon spoke of the Unceasing Demon Patriarch with burning yearning—
He had immediately sensed that the Poison Spirit Demon Lord might be behind it all.
So he summoned the messenger falcon and ordered the Death Soul Squad to investigate.
One of those orders was for detailed intelligence on the sects the Poison Spirit Demon Lord had once targeted.
Moreover, we suspect the spies are being coordinated by an organization led by the Heavenly Mechanism Star.
An unexpected revelation.
The Heavenly Mechanism Star—Chu-so.
Evidence had surfaced that he had aided the Poison Spirit Demon Lord in severing the flow of the spirit veins.
'The Heavenly Mechanism Star appears young, but in truth, he is quite old.'
Bu Eun-seol's eyes sharpened as he recalled Gongson Dan-gyeong's words.
Could it be that he had helped the Poison Spirit Demon Lord cut off the spirit veins back then?
According to Chief Han Jang-ju, the spirit veins of the Fire Soul Land spread like spiderwebs, branching out to connect with various sects.
In the end, it was clear—the Poison Spirit Demon Lord's actions were undeniably linked to Chu-so's schemes.
'If that's the case...'
A flash ignited in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
'The Fire Soul Land is in danger.'
A figure like the Poison Spirit Demon Lord—
There was no way he wouldn't know what his own disciple was plotting.
Yet now that the disciple was dead and his past deeds exposed... it was certain he would order Chu-so to erase all traces.
'Chu-so—he will undoubtedly wipe away the evidence.'
The Heavenly Mechanism Star.
Whenever his covert plans went awry—
He had a habit of ruthlessly cleaning up every trace without hesitation.
Since the Death Soul Squad had detected the Fire Soul Land and its connected sects, Chu-so would surely move to erase all evidence without remorse.
"There's no time."
CRACK!
Taking a deep breath, Bu Eun-seol shot into the sky.
By now, the forces of the Poison Spirit Hall have likely seized control of the Fire Soul Land.
According to the Unceasing Demon Patriarch—
The Seven Great Demon Patriarchs and the Ten Great Immortals were but one of the tools used to seal the Central Plains' spirit veins.
And by severing the karma between the Pale-Handed Demon Empress and the Cloud-Dream Hermit, the seal on the Fire Soul Land had been broken.
Whether that was true remained unclear, but—
'In the end, this confirms spies have infiltrated the Fire Soul Land as well.'
He hadn't considered it before.
The Fire Soul Land—the heart of the Central Plains' spirit veins, a place his grandfather had valued so deeply.
There was no way someone like the Heavenly Mechanism Star wouldn't have planted spies there.
He had been too preoccupied with his ties to the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden and Gongson Dan-a to notice.
'The Demonic Heavenly Emperor...'
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor had insisted he kill the Seven Great Demon Patriarchs.
At the time, the order made no sense.
With the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's power—
A mere flick of his finger could have crushed them all.
'Does he know I've mastered the Ink Soul First Form?'
Even if so—why?
Why would the Demonic Heavenly Emperor want to restore the Central Plains' spirit veins?
'And the Poison Spirit Demon Lord...'
Whoosh!
As he unleashed his Movement Technique, a flash surged in his pupils.
Why was the Poison Spirit Demon Lord so fixated on the spirit veins and sacred lands? Why was he targeting the Fire Soul Land, the core of the spirit veins?
'It's said the Return to Unity Realm Lord is dying, barely sustained by the Poison Spirit Demon Lord's power.'
What was the relationship between them?
What history did the Return to Unity Realm Lord carry?
Had his poisoning truly been the work of an assassin from the Eighteen Radiant Souls?
Why, among the Three Realm Lords, was the Return to Unity Realm Lord the only one replaced over a decade ago?
'I don't know.'
No matter how much he pondered, the answers eluded him.
But the Fire Soul Land was the heart of the Central Plains' spirit veins.
His grandfather was believed to have severed its spirit veins—
But in truth, he had only paused their flow, allowing them to fully revive in time.
And the Poison Spirit Demon Lord had undoubtedly been waiting for the Fire Soul Land's resurgence.
'I will not forgive anyone who dares touch the Fire Soul Land.'
Flash! CRACK!
Transformed into a streak of lightning, he vanished into the distant sky.