Chapter 1246
Bu Eun-seol's eyes widened.
That Buddhist Venerable was the Demon Monk—this was something he had known for a long time.
But to say that all of this was Buddhist Venerable's fault?
"The True Demon's Corpse had been sealed long ago using the power of sacred grounds and spirit veins."
"......"
"Only the pure energy flowing through nature could suppress the demonic power contained within the corpse."
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden continued in a composed tone.
"But the demonic energy within the corpse was beyond imagination. Over time, the sacred grounds and spirit veins across the Central Plains were instead corroded by demonic energy... Eventually, the corpse awakened once more."
Her gaze, which had been fixed on Bu Eun-seol, shifted slightly as she spoke again.
"That is why my brother pretended to destroy the sacred grounds and spirit veins. He severed the spirit veins tainted by demonic energy to prevent the corpse from growing stronger... while simultaneously allowing the purified sacred grounds and spirit veins to regain their original power."
"I see."
Bu Eun-seol exhaled deeply.
One lingering question had finally been answered.
Now he understood why his grandfather had annihilated not only the sacred grounds and spirit veins but even the spirit beasts.
"But why is all of this Buddhist Venerable's fault?"
At Bu Eun-seol's question, the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden lowered her voice.
"Buddhist Venerable claimed that to completely destroy the True Demon's Corpse, its power had to be purified to the point where even an ordinary human could absorb it."
A wave of dizziness washed over Bu Eun-seol.
He could already guess what her words implied.
"Then the power within the True Demon's Corpse... was originally something no human could acquire, but—"
"Correct."
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden confirmed.
"My brother absorbed all of the True Demon's Corpse into his own body and purified it so that even ordinary people could wield it."
For a brief moment, an image flashed in Bu Eun-seol's mind—
His grandfather, standing in the dim morgue, staring blankly into the void.
Even to the young Bu Eun-seol's eyes,
it had been clear that his grandfather was tormented by some recurring memory, sinking into deep sorrow.
'Was the reason Grandfather suffered so much from the past because his mistaken judgment led to countless deaths?'
The True Demon's Corpse being unleashed back into the martial world.
Transcendent power, carrying the black dharma, falling into the hands of evil men.
All of it had been because of his grandfather.
"What happened after that?"
At Bu Eun-seol's quiet question, the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden spoke again.
"After that, the purified True Demon's Corpse was divided among a group called the Eighteen Radiant Souls and subjected to numerous experiments. But something happened within their ranks, and eventually, even the Eighteen Radiant Souls scattered."
"So you're saying Buddhist Venerable was the mastermind behind the Eighteen Radiant Souls?"
"That, I do not know. However, my brother was once part of the Martial Alliance, and because of that, he committed many grave mistakes."
Bu Eun-seol's expression darkened severely.
From the Absolute Demon Saber Project to the Eighteen Radiant Souls... it was an undeniable truth that his grandfather had played the role of a double spy.
"But there's something I still don't understand."
Bu Eun-seol chose his words carefully.
"From what I've learned, Buddhist Venerable obtained the True Demon's Corpse long ago from the former Alliance Leader, Cheol Mu-heun."
According to the records left by Blood Shaolin's abbot, Dam-jeung,
Cheol Mu-heun had stumbled upon the True Demon's Corpse by chance and brought it to Buddhist Venerable, intending to have it destroyed.
So how could his grandfather have been deceived by Buddhist Venerable—
to the point of absorbing and purifying all of the True Demon's Corpse within the spirit veins and sacred grounds into his own body?
Could it be that Buddhist Venerable had already possessed the corpse hidden within the spirit veins and sacred grounds even before receiving it from Cheol Mu-heun?
And deliberately spread it to certain individuals?
"There is something you must know."
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden paused briefly before speaking again, her expression graver than ever.
"Buddhist Venerable is not a title referring to a single person."
"I already know. He has been using his shadows for a long time—"
"Not shadows."
A flicker of fear passed through her eyes as she shook her head.
"No matter how profound one's internal energy or divine power may be, do you truly believe a monk could remain so active and vigorous for two hundred years?"
A sharp glint flashed in the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden's eyes.
"All this time, my brother has been relentlessly hunting down and killing those called Buddhist Venerable. Yet Buddhist Venerable has always remained, continuously weaving his schemes."
Among the great masters of the martial world,
there were those who lived close to two hundred years, so Buddhist Venerable's longevity did not seem particularly extraordinary.
But upon reflection.
There had never been anyone in the history of the martial world who remained as vigorously active as the Buddhist Venerable, living past two hundred years.
"Then, the Demon Monk isn't merely writing a new history... but rather, multiple people have been succeeding one another, wearing the mask of the Buddhist Venerable?"
"The Buddhist Venerable of the current era undoubtedly exists."
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden shook her head.
"However, he too must be hiding his True Body, commanding countless shadows just like the old monster."
Then...
A faint light flickered in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
He recalled the contents of the picture book Dam-jeung had left behind.
That book depicted how the Buddhist Venerable was corrupted by knowledge.
Buddha Venerable Hong-hyeon's fall had been caused by the teachings of a certain monk in the Scripture Pavilion.
In other words, it meant that through knowledge, slaves of the demonic had been created in Shaolin, generation after generation.
Even before the Buddhist Venerable, demonic monks must have been born endlessly within Shaolin.
The Scripture Pavilion. And Shaolin's arrogance.
Shaolin had committed an extremely dangerous mistake.
Under the name of being the foremost institution of the martial world.
Under the pretext of maintaining peace and suppressing the demonic.
Under the pride of being the safest place in the world, guarded by arhats.
They had stored away every single forbidden demonic manual—texts that should never have been passed down in the martial world.
In other words, from another perspective—
Shaolin was nothing less than a cradle of knowledge where the most heinous demons could be born.
It would have been stranger if demonic monks like the Buddhist Venerable, who pursued twisted enlightenment, hadn't emerged.
That's why Great Master Dam-jeung...
At last, Bu Eun-seol understood.
He finally grasped why Dam-jeung had chosen to take his own life without uttering a single word.
Just as Bukgung Ryeong had left the Martial Alliance after realizing it was actually a gathering place for the Abyssal Forces—
If Shaolin, hailed as the sacred land of Buddhism, was in truth a cradle of demons, and if it was the Holy Monk of Shaolin who had killed the Blood Shaolin brothers...
Then Dam-jeung could never have continued living within Shaolin's embrace.
"I see."
As Bu Eun-seol exhaled deeply, the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden spoke in a firm voice.
"Originally, I never intended to tell you any of this."
Her gaze bore into Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
"If you learned all of this... you would try to shoulder every sin, just like your grandfather did."
Her expression was pained.
"You would take the blame for your grandfather's mistakes and faults, for the current state of the martial world... all upon yourself."
Grandfather's mistakes and faults.
For a moment, Bu Eun-seol's eyes wavered.
Just as the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden had said—
He realized that his grandfather couldn't have regretted his past so deeply just because he had been deceived by the Buddhist Venerable into manifesting the True Demon's Corpse.
Not over a mere personal grudge—but because he had done something that altered martial history, something that reversed its very flow.
What kind of act could have tormented him so much, making him drown in regret?
"Nineteen Radiant Souls."
Bu Eun-seol muttered unconsciously.
According to the old man who had called himself one of the Eighteen Radiant Souls, his grandfather had been referred to as the Nineteenth Radiant Soul.
—With the Creation Sun and Moon and the Nine Heavens Radiant Cloud, these two great treasures... one can undergo endless deaths without reincarnation and attain transcendent enlightenment.
That was what the old man—who had once called himself one of the Eighteen Radiant Souls—had said.
—Because of his unique ability, the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade Bu Jan-yang ultimately became... the Nineteenth Radiant Soul, who never should have existed.
The Eighteen Radiant Souls were individuals with the power to retrieve the True Demon's Corpse, which had been split into eighteen fragments.
And because of his unexpected ability, his grandfather had become the Nineteenth Radiant Soul.
At the time, Bu Eun-seol had assumed—
His grandfather was called the Nineteenth Radiant Soul because he had absorbed all of the True Demon's remains.
Moreover, he had always believed that the force lurking deep within the Martial Alliance, pulling the strings behind the Eighteen Radiant Souls—
Were absolute beings who had dominated the world since ancient times, spreading calamity—those who had uncovered the True Demon's method of creation.
"I see."
Only now could Bu Eun-seol clearly grasp the entire situation.
And he also realized what the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden had meant by his grandfather's faults.
"Grandfather, too, while active in the martial world... must have created his own shadow."
His voice was low, his expression dark.
"Perhaps the existence of the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade—the Great Killing Star—was a shadow Grandfather crafted in the light."
After a long silence, Bu Eun-seol spoke in a hushed tone.
"And the position of the Nineteenth Radiant Soul... was also staged to make it seem as though he had acted under someone else's command."
A sharp glint flashed through his eyes as he drew a ragged breath.
"Then did he actually create the Eighteen Radiant Souls himself?"
Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath.
If this deduction was correct...
Ultimately, it meant Grandfather had created the True Demon's method of creation, and the current martial world had become a battleground for all the Abyssal Forces.
"......"
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden remained silent. Her silence was affirmation.
"But."
Bu Eun-seol shook his head and spoke calmly.
"Grandfather isn't the type to shirk responsibility. If something was wrong, he would have surely corrected it and lived a life of atonement."
"Of course."
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden nodded.
"Even as the True Demon's Corpse scattered without finding its master, even as countless hidden forces stirred yet never revealed themselves... The fact that the martial world has remained so peaceful for decades—"
She declared with conviction.
"—is undoubtedly because my brother took measures before leaving the martial world."
She believed it wholeheartedly.
That the decades of peace in the martial world were all thanks to Bu Jan-yang.
"Take this."
After a pause, the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden retrieved a crimson gem from her robes.
"This is... what?"
"My heart, which I never got to give him back then."
At the center of the fingernail-sized gem, scarlet mist swirled like a vortex, sometimes writhing like a dragon, sometimes flickering like flames.
A faint red glow radiated from the gem, pulsing rhythmically as though alive—brightening and dimming in slow waves.
Coming from someone who governed the world's Spirit Veins, this was undoubtedly a treasure of immense value.
"I can't accept this."
"You've called me 'Aunt' all this time. How can a nephew refuse his aunt's gift?"
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden pressed the gem firmly into Bu Eun-seol's hand.
"Take it."
"...Thank you."
Reluctantly, Bu Eun-seol accepted the gem with both hands in a reverent gesture.
Ziiing.
Then something strange happened.
The Dragon-Phoenix Ring vibrated faintly.
On the opposite side of his hand—where the Nine Heavens Radiant Cloud was stored—the ring reshaped itself, forming a hollow in his palm to cradle the gem.
Click.
As soon as the gem settled inside, the Dragon-Phoenix Ring reverted seamlessly to its Metal Wrist Guard form.
"But the faction or individual who made my brother join the Martial Alliance and create the Eighteen Radiant Souls..."
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden spoke again, her gaze deepening endlessly.
"...must be separate from all this."
"Otherwise, my brother would have named the Buddhist Venerable as the mastermind behind everything and pursued him to the end."
Her eyes bore into Bu Eun-seol.
"Yet all my brother said was that the Buddhist Venerable had caused him to damage the Spirit Veins and purify the True Demon's Corpse."
In other words—everything related to the Spirit Veins and the True Demon's Corpse was the Buddhist Venerable's doing.
But he wasn't the one who condemned Grandfather to a life of regret.
"The Buddhist Venerable... might belong to the faction or individual Grandfather considers the true mastermind."
The leaders of the Righteous Faction knew of the True Demon's existence, instinctively fearing the demonic and dreading the coming of the Final Extinction.
The Absolute Demon Saber Project exploited this fear, framing it as a prophecy—that if the Demonic Path grew too powerful, the Final Extinction would arrive.
And the Buddhist Venerable was deeply involved in this scheme as well.
"That much is uncertain. However—"
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden's expression turned stern.
"As I said earlier, my brother tried to shoulder all the sins alone. In doing so, he erased his own existence and spent his life drowning in regret and suffering."
Her words carried the weight of a final warning.
"I told you his story... to make sure you never follow the same path."
"Immortal Maiden—"
"Live your own life."
She stepped closer, her voice earnest.
"That is all my brother would have wanted for you."
Bu Jan-yang had never spoken of this to Bu Eun-seol.
Because he knew his grandson's nature too well.
If he learned everything...
His beloved grandson would try to bear the weight of his past sins and seek to atone for them.
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden understood this perfectly.
"Promise me."
Her tone was unyielding.
"No matter what happens in the future, you will never try to take responsibility for your grandfather's mistakes."
She feared it deeply—the thought of Bu Eun-seol walking the same path as Bu Jan-yang.
"I..."
Bu Eun-seol smiled faintly and replied with quiet resolve.
"...am Grandfather's grandson."
"Bu Eun-seol."
"If not for Grandfather, I wouldn't even be standing here right now."
His smile looked weightless.
As if he had finally understood the reason for his existence.
Without realizing it, tears streamed down the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden's face.
Because that smile resembled Bu Jan-yang's from his youth so perfectly.
"Why in the world—"
She grabbed Bu Eun-seol's hands as if collapsing into them.
"—must you grandfather and grandson walk the same path?"
"......"
"For your own sake... can you not choose to live?"
Bu Eun-seol clasped her hands firmly in return.
"Aunt. I've already received all the love and care I could ever need in this life."
Then he smiled brightly.
"That must be why Heaven has given me a duty to fulfill."
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden could no longer suppress her grief and burst into tears.
Bu Jan-yang had lived his entire life in pitch-black darkness, in loneliness so bitter it gnawed at his soul... robbed of his very spirit.
And now, even his grandson—
Was willingly stepping onto a path where his body would shatter and his heart would be torn to shreds, all for someone else's sake.
The agony of parting, the futility of sorrow... In all this vast world, who would ever understand his suffering?
Against the flawlessly clear midday sky, something streaked across the boundless blue expanse.
A shadow so dense it seemed to swallow even light itself.
Its form indistinct, it moved as if skipping through space—piercing through clouds in an instant before plunging into the heart of a treacherous mountain range.
A deep, secluded valley untouched by human presence, cradling ancient mysteries.
The shadow descended soundlessly into a mist-laden ravine beneath sheer cliffs.
Whoosh.
The moment it touched the ground, the wavering silhouette twisted, gradually taking on a human shape.
The scattered darkness coalesced into bone and flesh, and before long, an unremarkable elderly man stood there.
Clad in a gray robe, his frame was slight—but deep within his eyes lurked an abyss that seemed capable of swallowing the world whole.
Yeop Hyo-cheon.
The Supreme Cult Commander of the Demon Hall, the Dark King, a name synonymous with terror in the Martial World.
"So... it was here after all."
Yeop Hyo-cheon's lips curled into a vicious sneer.
His gaze fixed on a crevice between moss-covered rocks.
There, despite the barren surroundings, a single ginseng radiated a noble crimson glow. The surrounding vegetation seemed to bow under its presence.
The legendary Spirit Medicine, found only in the Imperial Palace Secret Repository—the Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King.
"With this, I should be able to recover at least some of the scattered power of the secret arts."
Clenching his teeth, he suppressed the rising tide of desire.
"Before long, I'll be able to enter the Holy Land again."
He had mastered the Darkness Secret Arts—a technique no one, not even in the Sacred Realm, had achieved—
But in the end, he failed to absorb the Heavenly Might Star's power, losing half of his own strength in the process.
Because of that, he could no longer perform perfect Phantom Transformation, absorbing another's energy and memories as flawlessly as before.
"I can't afford to stay crouched in the shadows forever."
For someone who had never known defeat, this was humiliation.
"Soon, I'll claim what remains."
From his robes, he withdrew an object cold to the touch.
A jade orb split in half—the Sacred Heaven Jade.
A treasure of legend, capable of absorbing every trait and ounce of Internal Energy a person possessed—
Yet now, only half remained, its full power inaccessible.
For a man who pursued perfection, this incompleteness was a thirst, an agony that seeped into his bones.
Fortunately, with the Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King in hand, he could replenish the withered void left by his diminished arts.
Then, he would seek the Holy Land, drain their power without a trace, and re-enter the Sacred Realm.
"Time to return."
Yeop Hyo-cheon slowly reached toward the ginseng. Just as his fingertips were about to brush its crimson fruit—
BOOOOM—!
Like thunder from a clear sky, the atmosphere convulsed violently.
Yeop Hyo-cheon's brow twitched.
Before he could withdraw his hand, a crushing pressure bore down from above.
Looking up, he saw a dazzling, multicolored aura spreading like clouds in the distance.
Though auspicious in appearance, the Killing Intent within it was razor-sharp.
SHIIIING!
A streak of pure white light pierced through the colored mist and struck the earth.
The impact kicked up a storm of dust—yet not a single speck clung to the figure who emerged from it.
A middle-aged man clad in robes so blindingly white they hurt the eyes.
His imposing frame and jade-carved features seemed to repel the surrounding darkness by sheer presence alone.
Baekri Mu-jo.
Leader of the Martial Alliance's Sacred Guard Division, the Sacred Sword.