Chapter 1273
Heuk-pyo let out a quiet snicker as he stared at the Nine Nether Blood Left Commander, whose mouth hung agape.
"You could probably fit a fist in that mouth."
Then, with a derisive snort, he added,
"I've never seen a human mouth stretch that wide before."
"You bastard—!"
Only then did the Nine Nether Blood Left Commander snap out of his daze and shout.
"How are you still alive? I heard you clearly saw her die."
"I saw it."
As Bu Eun-seol spoke, a vast, transparent ripple surged outward from his figure.
An absolute force that dominated space itself—the Domain of World and Realm Annihilation, the pinnacle of martial arts, manifested once again with overwhelming intensity.
"Without even realizing that the power you so pride yourselves on had momentarily vanished."
As Bu Eun-seol's transparent ripple swept through the air—
Whoooosh!
Even the last remnants of the black mist that had barely been shielding the Nine Nether Demon Army were completely wiped away.
Every last trace of the demonic energy that had been countering the Imperial Court Martial Arts had disappeared.
"This is..."
"At the time, I didn't use any power—just watched. So you wouldn't have felt it. And whether it was the Mindscape or reality, you wouldn't have been able to tell the difference."
Hearing Bu Eun-seol's words, the Nine Nether Blood Left Commander's eyes widened in realization.
Even if one entered the Domain of World and Realm Annihilation,
unless they actively exerted power or engaged in combat, they wouldn't notice the loss of their strength.
But if this power had been in effect when Heuk-pyo died?
Every ability—Extrasensory Perception, Supernatural Power, all of it—would have vanished.
And in that state of unawareness,
everything before their eyes would have seemed like the Mindscape... making it nearly impossible to discern truth from illusion.
"So it wasn't just an ability that nullifies Soul-Demon Magic Energy."
"You've done your research on me, I see."
Bu Eun-seol scoffed.
The power he wielded wasn't some combat technique—it was a martial arts realm, the pinnacle of Void Extreme Realm.
But they had no way of knowing that.
To them,
the Domain of World and Realm Annihilation
had only ever been a secret method to neutralize Soul-Demon Magic Energy.
"But you were clearly under her spell."
The Nine Nether Blood Left Commander gritted his teeth as he pointed at Heuk-pyo.
"How the hell is any of this possible?"
He was genuinely driven mad with curiosity.
How could something like this even happen?
The foundation of the True Demon's Secret Arts that So-so used—Maheegisin—was love.
Unless one had never been ensnared by the technique to begin with,
the moment physical contact forged affection, an unbreakable love would take root, and the secret art could never be undone.
So how the hell had that bastard suddenly regained his senses?
"Stay curious for the rest of your life."
Heuk-pyo spoke in a low voice.
"I've got no reason to explain anything to a lowly foot soldier like you."
"Foot soldier?!"
The Nine Nether Blood Left Commander trembled with rage, but Heuk-pyo ignored him and turned to Bu Eun-seol.
"I'll take command of the Heavenly Might Secret Army now. Go after the Empress Dowager."
A nod.
As Bu Eun-seol inclined his head, a flash of light flickered through Heuk-pyo's eyes.
[It's better to pretend you know nothing about the Heavenly Emperor Command until the very end.]
"Understood."
Bu Eun-seol answered softly, a faint smile touching his lips.
Then, in an instant, he shot into the sky.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
The Nine Nether Blood Left Commander thrust out his hand.
Rumble—
The Nine Nether Blood Aura, a force capable of annihilating all power in the world, erupted forth.
It was dozens of times stronger than the dark energy wielded by the Nine Nether Demon Army.
Anyone caught in its range would cough up blood and collapse without fail.
Swish!
But Bu Eun-seol's figure had already vanished into the imperial palace before the Nine Nether Blood Left Commander's hand even fully extended.
A movement technique that defied human perception.
Slash!
At that moment, Heuk-pyo flicked his wrist, and a dagger shot out like lightning, aiming straight for the commander's throat.
Thud!
The commander barely managed to block it with his palm—only for the blade to pierce clean through.
Despite his palm being tempered to the point where even a treasured sword couldn't penetrate it,
a cheap three-nyang dagger forged in some back-alley smithy had skewered it like tofu.
"Grrr...!"
The Nine Nether Blood Left Commander let out a guttural roar.
"What the hell is going on?!"
Now that Bu Eun-seol wore the Dragon-Phoenix Ring,
even if he entered the imperial palace, he would inevitably mobilize the troops under the Heavenly Emperor Command.
Their plan to overthrow the palace with the Nine Nether Demon Army had already failed.
"Ask the underworld when you get there."
Click—whoosh!
Infusing his Black Wing with Internal Power, Heuk-pyo became a streak of light, darting across the battlefield.
Originally, the Nine Nether Demon Army was an invincible force created by the Empress Dowager—one that neither the Imperial Palace Secret Arts nor the martial world's secret techniques could touch.
But due to the sudden eruption of Bu Eun-seol's Domain of World and Realm Annihilation,
their demonic energy had instantly reversed, inflicting severe internal injuries.
Unable to block even a single strike from Heuk-pyo, they began collapsing like autumn leaves.
—Charge!
The Heavenly Might Secret Army joined the assault.
Forced to abandon their sound-based martial arts, the Nine Nether Demon Army had no choice but to fight like ordinary martial artists, swinging their weapons.
—Gahk!
—Keugh!
But in terms of pure combat ability,
the Heavenly Might Secret Army, trained in the Imperial Palace Secret Arts and various secret techniques of the martial world, held an overwhelming advantage.
One by one, the Nine Nether Demon Army fell, bleeding out.
"Not a single one leaves here alive."
Heuk-pyo's low voice carried through the air as he hovered above.
Under his crushing martial might,
the Empress Dowager's so-called elite forces crumbled helplessly.
No, this was no battle—it was nothing short of an execution carried out by the Death God himself.
Thud. Thud.
In the courtyard before Cining Palace, shrouded in thick night mist, only the sound of Bu Eun-seol's footsteps shattered the silence.
The moonlight was faint, obscured by clouds, and only the occasional drip of dew from the palace eaves could be heard.
Clad in the official robes befitting the Commander of the Dragon Scale Guard, Bu Eun-seol strode confidently toward Cining Palace.
Clank.
Two guards crossed their spears, blocking his path.
"Halt."
"I am Bu Eun-seol, Commander of the Dragon Scale Guard."
"This is Cining Palace, where Her Majesty the Empress Dowager resides. Even the Commander of the Dragon Scale Guard cannot enter without permission."
Though the guard's voice was firm, deep within his eyes flickered a shadow of unease. Rumors of the Embroidered Uniform Guard surrounding Cining Palace had already spread throughout the palace grounds.
"So, you still haven't grasped the situation, I see."
A cold smile curled at the corner of Bu Eun-seol's lips.
Beneath the moonlight, his face was as frigid as carved ice.
"From this moment onward—"
Shiiing.
The sound of the Ink Soul Sword leaving its sheath split the silence.
As the dim light reflected off the blade grazed the guards' faces, their complexions instantly turned deathly pale.
"Anyone who stands in my way will be executed on the spot."
"T-Treason!"
The guard's shout echoed through the halls of Cining Palace.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
At the same time, black shadows surged from the rooftops, and over twenty armed warriors encircled Bu Eun-seol in an instant.
"Soul-Demon Magic Energy..."
Bu Eun-seol let out a hollow chuckle.
What emanated from the warriors' bodies was none other than Soul-Demon Magic Energy.
That heretical power—
Here, in the heart of the Imperial Palace, no less, radiating from the very warriors guarding the Empress Dowager's chambers?
"Kill."
At the leader's command,
the twenty martial artists vanished in an instant.
Their movement technique was so swift that they seemed to disappear before his very eyes.
Kiiii!
With an eerie howl, dark sword energy tore through the night air, spreading in all directions.
Kwaaa!
The earth trembled.
Trees shook at their roots, and the palace lanterns flickered out before reigniting.
And in that same moment—
Schlick. Thud.
Twenty warriors reappeared in midair—now headless corpses.
By deploying the Void-Shattering Realm to instantly neutralize the Soul-Demon Magic Energy, then executing the Bloody Tears Seven Forms,
he had severed twenty heads in a single stroke.
Rumble. Hiss!
Meanwhile, from within Cining Palace, another forty warriors poured forth, immediately launching their assault on Bu Eun-seol.
Unlike before, these did not seem to be elites of the True Demon Palace. Instead, they unleashed the Imperial Court Martial Arts' distinctive sword strokes, pressing him relentlessly.
Swish! Swish!
Each stance of their Imperial Court Martial Arts contained boundless variations.
Even as they unleashed hundreds of sword energies, they seamlessly linked dozens of martial forms into what appeared to be a single motion—
merging disparate techniques into one,
elevating their coordination to the pinnacle of sophistication with a unique Combined Attack Art.
Whirl! Flash!
Twisting like serpents to strike vital points, then suddenly unleashing destructive force like a waterfall.
Bu Eun-seol watched with an intrigued expression before—
Slash! Slash! Slash!
—instantly countering with three strokes.
Thud.
His sword strokes appeared simple, almost lacking in power,
yet—
Clang.
—each time the Ink Soul Sword split the air, the warriors' wrists, still gripping their weapons, fell to the ground.
Though Bu Eun-seol's sword strokes seemed deceptively plain,
each contained the distilled essence of the era's greatest swordsmen.
Fwoosh!
The Hwa Woo Sword of the Profound Demon Wi Ji-mua unfolded, followed by the Myriad Forms One Style of the Sword Sovereign Heonwon Dam-cheong.
The martial arts of the Three Demons and Three Venerables had long transcended the limits of contemporary martial arts,
and Bu Eun-seol—who had faced them in life-or-death battles—
had deeply internalized their profound Principles of Martial Arts.
Fwip! Schlick!
When his exquisite swordplay merged with the pure internal energy of the Reverse Extremity Heart Method,
an unfathomable power manifested with every stroke.
Schlick. Schlick.
Wherever Bu Eun-seol's sword passed, wrists were severed,
and the warriors could do nothing but retreat in panic without even a scream.
"I spare you only because you are the Imperial Palace's warriors."
As Bu Eun-seol stepped into Cining Palace,
Rumble.
This time, over fifty warriors clad in bizarre Miao tribe attire surrounded him.
"We can't face him with martial arts! Force him into an internal energy clash!"
At the leader's shout, the warriors scrambled into formation.
Whoosh.
They drew a massive circle around Bu Eun-seol before—
Boom!
—pouring out their full internal energy in unison.
'They've devised their own countermeasures against the Domain of World and Realm Annihilation.'
In a contest of pure power like an internal energy clash, numbers naturally held the advantage.
These warriors weren't improvising—they had meticulously prepared a strategy to counter the Void-Shattering Realm.
Hummm!
As the air compressed under the pressure,
the combined internal energy of fifty warriors crashed down upon Bu Eun-seol at once.
A vortex of invisible energy erupted around him, lifting nearby stones into the air.
"Do you truly believe martial arts are so simplistic?"
Kwaaang!
In that instant, a blinding radiance erupted from Bu Eun-seol's back, soaring into the heavens.
The Reverse Extremity Heart Method—developed by Blood Vajra, the greatest prodigy since the founding of Heavenly Dragon Temple—
combined the strengths of both orthodox and unorthodox Internal Energy Methods.
Though difficult to master, once learned, it cultivated the purest and most profound True Qi in the world.
And now—
BOOM!
There are over dozens of keys to gaining the upper hand in internal energy confrontations.
So much so that even the prideful Ak Mu-ryeong himself referenced Blood Vajra's Reverse Extremity Heart Method when refining his own Internal Energy Method—
transitioning from the Demonic Path to the Orthodox Path, reforging his internal energy studies from the ground up.
"Ugh—"
The martial artists gradually began letting out stifled groans.
Under the crushing pressure, their True Qi reversed flow, twisting their meridians.
Drip, drip.
Others, unable to withstand the pressure, started vomiting bright blood from their mouths.
Thud.
Ultimately, those who lost the internal energy clash knelt, gasping for breath.
They no longer had the strength to even twitch a finger—their organs had all been displaced from their original positions.
Had Bu Eun-seol shown no mercy? Their viscera would have ruptured, killing them instantly.
Crunch, crunch.
Finally, as he stepped into the Grand Hall of Cining Palace—
"How dare a mere Dragon Scale Guard Commander—!"
Martial artists lunged at him once more.
Slash! Slash!
With every swing of Bu Eun-seol's sword, blood sprayed, dyeing the marble floor crimson.
Before long, the interior fell silent.
Flick.
Shaking the blood off his blade, he strode toward the main hall of Cining Palace.
Creeeak.
Pushing the doors open, a dazzling interior was revealed.
Dozens of candles illuminated the hall as brightly as midday.
Exquisitely embroidered screens surrounded the space, and a golden phoenix was carved into the ceiling.
And at the deepest part of the hall—
The Empress Dowager sat upon a high jade throne.
Below her, martial artists and guards—her trusted subordinates—stood in solemn formation.
Twitch.
The Empress Dowager's face burned red with fury.
Beneath her ornate phoenix crown, her eyes flashed with the madness of a venomous serpent.
The jade bracelets on her wrists clattered, echoing through the hall, but Bu Eun-seol remained expressionless as he advanced.
Step. Step.
Ascending the dais, Bu Eun-seol did not kneel—only slightly bowing at the waist in a perfunctory salute.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager."
He raised his head. His pupils were deep and icy.
"This subject, Bu Eun-seol, has come by His Majesty's decree."
Instantly, tension thickened the air.
The gazes of the Empress Dowager and Bu Eun-seol clashed in midair, invisible currents of energy passing between them.
Rumble—
Outside, Dragon Scale Guards and Embroidered Uniform Guards swarmed in.
Bu Eun-seol glanced at the Empress Dowager's retainers lined below the throne, then retrieved an imperial edict bearing the jade seal from his robes.
"Her Majesty, the Empress Dowager—the mother of the realm—could never harbor treasonous intent!"
His voice rang out clear and resonant as he looked down at them.
"This is all the work of vile traitors who have blinded Her Majesty's eyes and ears! His Majesty has commanded me to cleanse these vermin with the sword he bestowed, to protect Her Majesty's honor!"
Shiiing—
He drew not his Moondusk Sword, but the ceremonial blade symbolizing his authority as the Dragon Scale Guard Commander—bestowed by the Emperor himself.
Rumble—
In that moment, the Dragon Scale Guards and Embroidered Uniform Guards swiftly surrounded the palace maids and eunuchs of Cining Palace.
"Have you come to kill me?"
At the Empress Dowager's words, Bu Eun-seol slowly lifted his head.
"Did Your Majesty not hear this lowly subject recite the imperial decree just now?"
His gaze was glacial, yet a strange smile curled at the corner of his lips.
"How could I dare raise a blade against the mother of the realm? His Majesty, in his boundless filial piety, declared it impossible for Your Majesty to have conspired in treason."
With the exaggerated cadence of an opera performer, Bu Eun-seol declared loudly:
"I have heard that treacherous rats—those who blinded Your Majesty's eyes and ears, wagging their wicked tongues to disrupt the imperial order—lurk here. By His Majesty's command, I have come to cleanse these filthy vermin."
The Empress Dowager trembled.
In other words—though he would not kill her, he was here to depose her.
Swish!
Before his words had even fully settled, Bu Eun-seol's blade carved a brilliant arc through the air.
"Ghk—!"
A eunuch standing beside the Empress Dowager clutched his throat without even time to scream.
Crimson blood sprayed onto the Empress Dowager's lavish silk robes, but Bu Eun-seol paid it no mind.
"The crime of feeding false intelligence to Her Majesty!"
Slash.
The head of a senior palace maid who attended the Empress Dowager tumbled to the ground.
"The crime of stealing Her Majesty's seal to collude with rebels!"
Before the Empress Dowager's eyes, the limbs she had relied upon were severed like autumn leaves in the wind.
They had all been her most trusted confidants—martial artists from the True Demon Palace, infused with Soul-Demon Magic Energy.
Drip, drip—
The floor became a sea of blood in an instant, the metallic stench thick in the air.
"And then—"
Hiss—
Suddenly, the interior plunged into extreme cold.
The hall froze over as if encased in ice—
CRACK! CRACK!
Purple lightning, dyeing the entire world in its hue, struck down in rapid succession.
Thud.
As the flashes gradually subsided, a woman in Miao tribe attire dropped from midair.
Her face was concealed behind a bizarre golden mask—
But Bu Eun-seol recognized her identity at a glance from her silhouette alone.
The very woman who had tried—and failed—to seduce him.
The one who had ultimately cast the Maheegisin spell on Heuk-pyo.
The master of Black Silk Tower—So-so.
Slash.
A crimson line split So-so's pale throat beneath the golden mask.
No need for questioning—just execute.
Without a single word, Bu Eun-seol severed her head.
Her crimes were far too grave and far too evident.
Splurt—!
Blood gushed from the severed neck like a fountain.
Thud.
The golden-masked woman's severed head rolled across the ground in vain.
Though she had once earned Heuk-pyo's genuine love, in the end, she had exploited even that.
This was the futile demise of So-so—the bewitching enchantress, the Empress Dowager's most trusted right hand.