Chapter 1245
"How could I possibly make the same mistake again?"
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden muttered under her breath as she watched Neung-gyeong's Water Essence Divine Qi spreading outward in all directions.
She bitterly regretted not having died alongside Bu Jan-yang.
But then again—how could she possibly savor the agony of being the sole survivor once more?
Oooom—
As if having made up her mind, she channeled her Internal Power, and a mysterious energy began radiating from her body as well.
She, too, was preparing to unleash everything without hesitation—to activate the forbidden technique of Mutual Destruction.
"A pointless endeavor."
Tap Mok-geuk saw through their intentions instantly and swung both hands, dispersing the venomous energy of the Ten-Thousand Poison Erosion World Being in all directions.
"Do you not know that the concept of Mutual Destruction was originally devised by this palace?"
Screeeech—
Before anyone could react, the grotesque and sinister waves of poison from the Ten-Thousand Poison Erosion World Being transformed into millions of black flames, spreading outward.
No matter how varied the methods of Mutual Destruction appeared, they all boiled down to one thing—detonating the power within one's body to perish alongside the enemy.
But Tap Mok-geuk, utilizing the Soul-Demon Magic Energy and the power of the Ten-Thousand Poison Erosion World Being embedded within him, suppressed his physical reactions to the extreme—completely blocking the very act of releasing such explosive force.
BOOM.
As a result, the energies Neung-gyeong and the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden had gathered to their limits surged back into them in an instant.
Staggering, they both coughed up bright red blood simultaneously.
The Water Essence Divine Qi that had been emanating from Neung-gyeong's body vanished, replaced only by a turbid, foul energy seeping out.
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden, too, writhed in agony as the grand technique she had been preparing to unleash dissipated like a mirage.
Before such an overwhelming disparity in power—
Even a last resort like Mutual Destruction proved utterly futile.
"This is delightful."
Tap Mok-geuk alternated his gaze between Neung-gyeong and the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden, their elegant forms trembling before him, and swallowed hard.
"In all my years of cultivating the Evil Venom Demon Scripture, never once have I succumbed to lust. But the two of you...."
Just as he was about to utter unspeakably lewd words—
KOOOOOOM—!
The heavens suddenly roared, and a pitch-black meteor tore across the distant sky like a blade rending the firmament.
CRACKLE—!
Through the fissure it left behind, a blinding light poured down.
BOOM—!
Simultaneously, the earth split apart with a deafening explosion—
KWAOOOOO—!
A massive shockwave radiated outward, flinging the Poison People aside and even pushing back the venomous miasma that had enshrouded the Fire Soul Land.
Whoooosh—
As the wind howled and the dust settled, a single figure stood revealed.
It was Bu Eun-seol.
Sizzle—
Amber flames flickered in his eyes, visible through the strands of his wind-tossed hair.
The sight of the Fire Soul Land in ruins sent his Killing Intent soaring to terrifying heights.
In that moment, he looked exactly like Bu Jan-yang in his youth—radiating an aura of dreadful, overwhelming slaughter.
"Now this is an interesting turn of events."
Tap Mok-geuk recognized Bu Eun-seol and shook his head in disbelief.
"The Unceasing Demon Patriarch prophesied you would become a headless ghost... Was his vaunted wisdom, capable of foreseeing the future, nothing but lies?"
Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed.
Just as he had suspected—Chu-so had not only been in close collaboration with the Poison Spirit Demon Lord and the Unceasing Demon Patriarch—
But had also been meticulously tracking his every move all along.
"So in the end, I'll have to cut down both Chu-so and the Poison Spirit Demon Lord to finish this."
"The brat's overflowing with confidence, I see."
Tap Mok-geuk let out a grating laugh.
"Even if you possessed the same strength as Bu Jan-yang in his prime, it would be useless now."
Shuuuu—
He absorbed the Ten-Thousand Poison Erosion World Being, forged from Soul-Demon Magic Energy and Human Poison, back into his own body.
"Haaa—"
Exhaling a cloud of black mist, Tap Mok-geuk's body transformed into a pitch-black Demon God Statue.
Venomous True Form, Poisonous Form Without Self.
He had unleashed the Human Poison—the supreme poison art and pinnacle achievement of the True Demon Palace, surpassing even the Saint Among Poisons.
"They say you've discovered a way to nullify Soul-Demon Magic Energy."
Tap Mok-geuk spoke as tendrils of black mist coiled around him.
"But even if you can block Soul-Demon Magic Energy, you cannot stop Human Poison."
In other words—the Empress Dowager and Heavenly Mechanism Star had been relentlessly tracking Bu Eun-seol's movements.
They had studied how he defeated his enemies, analyzed every ability he possessed.
"Even if you've reached the realm of the Saint Among Poisons, it won't save you!"
Fwoosh—!
Hundreds of black threads slowly extended from Tap Mok-geuk's hands, and even the ground beneath them began to darken.
Human Poison was a supreme poison art—one that transcended all venomous techniques accumulated throughout the martial world.
A realm of poison so absolute that not even the power of the Saint Among Poisons could resist it.
Sssss—
Even before the poison touched him, pale smoke began rising from Bu Eun-seol's entire body.
Once Human Poison manifested, it could turn an entire space into poison itself.
Even if the venom didn't penetrate his body directly, avoiding intoxication was impossible.
Shuuuu—
As the acrid stench spread, the very space where Bu Eun-seol stood began to melt away.
Zzzziiing—
At that moment, the colors of the surrounding scenery blurred—and the encroaching poison vanished.
The realm of Void Extreme was strikingly similar to the state of Harmonization with Nature—it constantly sought to maintain its original form.
As Tap Mok-geuk's Human Poison and Soul-Demon Magic Energy spread, the power of World and Realm Annihilation activated on its own.
Pat! Pat!
Though the poison's ability to dominate space had disappeared, the extending black tendrils remained.
Human Poison, too, was a pure venom that existed within nature.
Tap Mok-geuk had deliberately unleashed both Soul-Demon Magic Energy and Human Poison simultaneously—forcing Bu Eun-seol to activate the power of Void Extreme.
And as a result, Bu Eun-seol had been cornered into an even more disadvantageous position—one where he could be poisoned all the more easily.
Sssssssk.
Before he knew it, dense black veins had spread across his entire body like intricate networks of dark rivers.
The Human Poison had finally penetrated, forcing Bu Eun-seol's life force to dissipate outward.
Drip. Drip.
The more the poison flowed, the clearer the veins became, creeping up his forearms and the nape of his neck.
Crack.
The poison spread across one side of his face, turning it black as if he were slowly transforming into a statue of obsidian.
Hssssss.
The realm of Void Extreme was not a weakness that nullified power.
It was a state of perfect natural harmony—one that inherently resisted the seepage of poison without the need to forcibly circulate inner energy or resist.
But the force of the pouring Human Poison was stronger than the power trying to return to equilibrium.
In the end, Bu Eun-seol was gradually succumbing to the poison.
"Kehahahaha!"
Tap Mok-geuk erupted into maniacal laughter as he watched Bu Eun-seol darken without even being able to resist.
"All that bravado, acting like you were something special—yet in the end, you're just another corpse to add to the pile."
Shiiing.
Just then, Bu Eun-seol—now half-blackened—slowly drew the Ink Soul Sword.
With a sound like a dragon's growl,
the dull, shadowed form of the iron sword revealed itself as he lowered his stance.
"What, trying to imitate Bu Jan-yang now?"
Tap Mok-geuk sneered, eyes flashing with contempt.
"Even if that old man crawled back from the dead, he wouldn't be able to withstand the Human Poison!"
Drip. Drip.
With the sound of flowing water,
just as dozens of tendrils of Human Poison were about to seep into Bu Eun-seol's organs—
Swoooooosh.
The Ink Soul Sword began tracing a slow, deliberate circle in the air.
And then, something unbelievable happened—something even the eyes could scarcely believe.
A mere circle drawn in empty space, and yet... the pouring poison was vanishing?
"How is this—?"
Tap Mok-geuk's eyes bulged in disbelief.
The Human Poison was supposed to be unstoppable—no method could prevent its corruption. Even a Saint Among Poisons would meet the same fate.
So how could something as simple as drawing a circle in the air neutralize it?
"So the Human Poison..."
Bu Eun-seol murmured in a low voice.
"...was stagnation all along."
In the past, the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden had told him
how his grandfather had driven out the Poison Spirit Demon Lord.
She said that his grandfather had merely drawn a circle in the air with his great saber—
and in an instant, the poison of the Poison Spirit Demon Lord, a being who could dominate dozens of zhang of space with his supreme venom, had vanished.
—To understand the nature of the Four Deadly Poisons and the Human Poison... I had to let myself be poisoned.
The truth was,
Bu Eun-seol could have avoided poisoning from the moment he arrived at the Fire Soul Land by maintaining Harmonization around himself.
But he had deliberately allowed the poison in—
—Because I'll have to face the Poison Spirit Demon Lord soon.
Though the man was nothing more than a defeated general who had barely escaped with his life under his grandfather's blade,
Bu Eun-seol still held the Poison Spirit Demon Lord in high regard.
From another perspective—
he was the only one who had survived a direct encounter with his grandfather at the peak of his power.
—Because of this clash, the Poison Spirit Demon Lord, who has been in seclusion, will soon emerge.
To face the master of all poisons, he needed to experience the Human Poison wielded by his subordinate and grasp its essence.
And thanks to Tap Mok-geuk,
he had finally realized what method his grandfather had used.
'The Human Poison is the pinnacle of stagnation.'
The Human Poison stagnated all energy within a human body, obstructing the very cycle that was the essence of life.
In other words, it severed all flow, halted all movement, and corroded the energy of life itself—
which was why even a Saint Among Poisons couldn't resist it.
'The way to counter the Human Poison isn't blocking or expelling it... but perfect circulation.'
Just as blood endlessly circulates through the body around the heart,
his grandfather had shattered the power of stagnation by manifesting the shape of perfect circulation—a circle.
'If I hadn't grasped the profundity of the Ink Soul First Form when facing that old man from the Eighteen Radiant Souls...'
Cold sweat trickled down Bu Eun-seol's back.
The ultimate principle of the Ink Soul First Form was also the circulation of life.
That was why he could now employ the same method Bu Jan-yang had once used—
dissolving the nature of stagnation within the flow of circulation, nullifying its power entirely.
Whoooosh.
The Ink Soul Sword was now spinning rapidly.
Unlike Bu Jan-yang, who could sustain the principle of circulation with a single stroke,
Bu Eun-seol had to keep the blade rotating to maintain the effect.
'The reason Grandfather was invincible wasn't just because of the destructive power of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms... but because he always grasped the nature of his enemy first.'
A surge of pride filled Bu Eun-seol.
Though he had pioneered the Void Boundary Art—a new realm of martial arts—
he had still wondered if he could ever truly walk the same path as his grandfather.
But now, he was certain.
That his path was not wrong.
That soon, he would stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
"Impossible!"
Feeling his life threatened, Tap Mok-geuk slammed his full power into the ground.
BOOOOM!
The moment he realized there was no way to defeat Bu Eun-seol,
he unleashed the full force of the Human Poison and the Ten-Thousand Poison Erosion World Being—intending to annihilate every living thing in the area.
Fwoooosh.
Hundreds, thousands of black shadows began spreading beyond the Fire Soul Land.
A master of the True Demon Palace—the very originators of the Mutual Destruction doctrine—unleashing such a secret art meant
its power and momentum were unlike anything else.
Blades of grass sharpened into venomous spikes, the ground beneath their feet turned into a toxic swamp spewing miasma,
even stones and splinters of wood rose like hidden weapons.
"This, you can't break!"
This technique transformed the entire terrain into poison before unleashing it all at once—
an attack that could not be broken, could not be blocked.
Since it wasn't a supernatural power, even the strength of the Sky Void Realm couldn't block it.
Zzzzing.
Finally, a circular light formed around where Tap Mok-geuk stood, and soon hundreds—no, thousands—of fragments began rising into the air.
Once those scattered...
Every living being in Fire Soul Land would be slaughtered.
"Heh heh heh."
Just as Tap Mok-geuk grinned viciously, preparing to detonate his venomous energy—
Whoosh.
Bu Eun-seol slowly extended a finger.
"In all of heaven and earth, only this solitary self exists..."
A single beam of light poured from his fingertips as he murmured those words.
At the same time, every fragment of poison floating around Tap Mok-geuk began exploding one after another.
Heaven and Earth Only Me.
The pinnacle of projectile techniques—the forbidden art of the Inner Energy Bullet Art, mastered by the Bukgung Ryeong, capable of dominating even an instant.
Ssssssh—
As the light dispersed, the ground around Tap Mok-geuk...
Looked as though hundreds—no, thousands—of perfectly round holes had been punched through it, like meteors falling straight from the sky.
Piercing even time and space with the profound essence of a single bullet...
Just before the venomous energy could detonate, everything within its range had been skewered in an instant.
"This..."
Tap Mok-geuk's mouth fell open in disbelief.
As a disciple of the True Demon Palace, he was well-versed in every profound martial principle scattered throughout the murim.
Yet in that briefest of instants...
To have linked space itself as if threading a bead, piercing through the hundreds—no, thousands—of fragments created by the Ten-Thousand Poison Erosion World Being in one breath?
Such a martial principle had never before appeared in the current martial world.
"What...?"
Before he knew it, Tap Mok-geuk roared.
"What the hell is this?!"
"Heaven and Earth Only Me."
Bu Eun-seol's voice was low.
"The pinnacle of the Inner Energy Bullet Art—the Finger Flick Art."
"The Bullet King?"
Only then did Tap Mok-geuk seem to realize something, glaring at Bu Eun-seol before muttering in a hushed voice.
"So you... were the Martial Soul Society Leader all along."
Crack.
A faint fissure formed between his brows, then spread across his entire skull.
The final target pierced by Heaven and Earth Only Me had been his head.
"You too... will soon become just like Bu Jan-yang."
Crunch.
His skull shattered, and in an instant, his life was extinguished.
'They already suspect me.'
The Martial Soul Society Leader remained a mysterious figure, with only the Bullet King Bukgung Ryeong as a known point of contact.
Yet the moment he used the bullet-based martial arts, Tap Mok-geuk immediately deduced he was the Society Leader.
Meaning, they simply lacked definitive proof—but suspicion was already there.
Heavenly Mechanism Star... and the forces cooperating with him...
They were already suspecting a connection between him and the Martial Soul Society Leader.
—You too will soon become just like Bu Jan-yang.
His grandfather had once stood unrivaled, yet chose the humble profession of an undertaker and quietly left the martial world behind.
But Tap Mok-geuk had cursed him as though he had fallen into disgrace.
'No need to dwell on the words of such a man.'
Finishing his thoughts, Bu Eun-seol stepped forward.
"Palace Master, Immortal Maiden."
He bowed respectfully to Neung-gyeong and the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden.
"I arrived too late."
The two women responded with faint smiles.
His dignified, imposing presence was like seeing a younger Bu Jan-yang returned to life.
"Palace Master. Even though you knew trouble had come to Fire Soul Land, why didn't you tell me?"
Neung-gyeong shook her head at his words.
"This was a matter between her and me. How could I burden you yet again?"
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden added,
"If something happened to you, I wouldn't be able to face my older brother in the afterlife."
Bu Eun-seol replied firmly,
"Your nephew is already training to face them."
"Them? The True Demon Palace?"
"All of them."
He sighed, then spoke of the Baekri Clan and the True Demon.
Of Heavenly Mechanism Star and the Same Heart Society.
The two women exchanged startled glances.
This young man had been fighting alone to safeguard the Central Plains' martial world?
"Understood."
Neung-gyeong nodded.
"From now on, if such forces appear, I will inform you first."
But Bu Eun-seol, still distrustful, declared,
"From now on, elite forces from the main sect will be stationed in Fire Soul Land."
His gaze shifted from the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden to Neung-gyeong.
"And an intelligence branch will be established near the Divine Beast Palace as well."
This wasn't a request—it was a decree.
He would no longer allow them to be endangered.
Even if by force, he would station troops to ensure this never happened again.
"Then I shall send disciples from my palace to Fire Soul Land as well."
Neung-gyeong then said to the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden,
"If we integrate the Divine Beast Palace's Water God Martial Arts with Fire Soul Land's grand flame techniques, their power will multiply."
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden nodded in agreement.
"Then I should share some of the spiritual herbs from this land with your disciples. That way, they'll handle the Water God qi more smoothly."
The two women, having released decades of resentment, finally understood each other sincerely.
Perhaps it was because, through Bu Eun-seol, they had felt Bu Jan-yang's genuine love for them.
"Then I'll take my leave."
Bu Eun-seol bowed, watching them with quiet contentment.
Had his grandfather been here, the two would surely have lived in harmony like sisters.
'Now it's my duty to protect them.'
With Tap Mok-geuk's forces defeated...
The Poison Spirit Demon Lord would soon emerge from seclusion to hunt him. He had to prepare.
"Wait."
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden spoke softly.
"There's something I must tell you."
She glanced at Neung-gyeong, giving a slight nod before gesturing to Bu Eun-seol.
"Come with me for a moment."
Though puzzled, Bu Eun-seol followed her into her quarters.
True to her austere nature, the interior was clean and simple, like a Zen master's meditation room—bare of unnecessary furnishings.
"All of this..."
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden, who had just served Bu Eun-seol tea, uttered words more shocking than anything he could have anticipated.
"...happened because of the Buddhist Venerable."