Chapter 350
—The Black-White Witch Has Been Slain!
The Black-White Witch, who had occasionally appeared in the martial world to spill human blood.
Recently, she had emerged repeatedly in Pyeongdo, draining the blood of countless individuals—only to finally have her trail uncovered by Baek Un-saeng, the branch leader of the Murim Alliance's Shandong Branch.
At last, the martial artists of the Murim Alliance surrounded her. But an unexpected outcome unfolded.
A hundred martial artists were instead massacred by the Black-White Witch.
Because her true identity was none other than the master of the Mind Seizing Great Art, said to ensnare the souls of men with but a single word—
The Illusion King, Sa Ok-cheong.
The martial world was thrown into shock.
The Black-White Witch, whose martial prowess had never been revealed and whose true form had never been revealed—was the Illusion King?
—He was an androgynous person. Thus, he sought to consume the blood of those possessing both True Yin and True Yang energies to choose a gender.
Upon investigation, it was revealed that the Black-White Witch was indeed androgynous, and had been draining the blood of individuals who carried both True Yang and True Yin energies—those who could allow her to solidify a single gender.
In fact, Sa Ok-cheong's body, discovered in the forest, was reported to have already undergone significant masculinization.
—If the masculinization had progressed this far, she must have been consuming blood for at least twenty years. So why had such deeds remained hidden from the martial world?
The high command of the Murim Alliance, having examined the Illusion King's body, fell into confusion.
Sa Ok-cheong had been draining the blood of those with True Yang energy for a long time.
Then why had she disguised herself as the Black-White Witch, appearing intermittently in the martial world?
—The Illusion King had once received a stable supply of blood from a certain faction, but that arrangement had fallen through.
Later, another rumor spread—that the Illusion King had been subordinate to a secret faction.
And through that faction, he had received a steady supply of blood, but something had gone wrong, forcing him to hunt for blood himself.
But the martial world had already lost interest in the backstory of the now-deceased Illusion King.
—Just who was it that killed the Illusion King?
The truly important question was who had slain him.
In the martial world, there were few who could single-handedly kill the Illusion King.
He was not only a master of the Mind Seizing Secret Art but also a terrifying expert who had mastered finger and hand arts rivaling the Blood Shadow Plain Hand.
Yet, no traces of martial techniques remained on the Illusion King's corpse.
This suggested a high probability that someone had slain him alone and erased all evidence of the battle.
But no matter how much they investigated, they could not identify the one who had executed him.
In the end, the reasons behind the Illusion King becoming the Black-White Witch, as well as the identity of his killer, remained unsolved...
And as time passed, public interest in the culprit who had slain the Illusion King gradually faded.
Great Sword Mountain.
A mountain located in the northern region of Guangyuan, at the border between Shaanxi and Gansu.
With towering peaks that seemed to pierce the heavens, this vast mountain range appeared utterly detached from the mortal world—like a true Land of Immortals.
Whoosh—
A man cut through the clouds and mist, ascending toward the summit of Great Sword Mountain.
Though his features were ordinary enough to be seen anywhere, his long, slit-like eyes gleamed with profound depth.
It was Bu Eun-seol, disguised under the alias Seol-so.
He carried a large wooden coffin on his back.
Yet, as if feeling no weight at all, he scaled the mountain like the wind.
After climbing to a dizzying height, a massive temple loomed before him—one so grand it seemed to dominate the mountain's majesty.
Though it was a Buddhist temple, no monks resided there. Instead, it was inhabited only by transcendent women who practiced asceticism while keeping their hair—
The Mysterious Sect that had produced countless exceptional swordswomen throughout the ages:
The Sword Pavilion.
A faint groan escaped from the coffin on his back.
Startled, Bu Eun-seol quickly set it down and opened the lid.
"Are you awake?"
Inside lay a beautiful woman in white robes, her eyes tightly shut.
A-yeon, the successor of the Sword Pavilion.
Even though Bu Eun-seol had dealt with the Illusion King, dispelling the effects of the Spirit Summoning Secret Voice, she had yet to regain consciousness.
Not only that—an inexplicable heat qi was scorching her entire body, to the point where even her meridians were on the verge of melting.
Fortunately, Bu Eun-seol had mastered the Glacier Thousand Streams Art, an ancient Ice Art, allowing him to suppress her fever and stabilize her condition.
But this was no fundamental cure. Ultimately, only someone capable of meticulously analyzing True Qi Circulation could treat her properly.
Thus, Bu Eun-seol had no choice but to urgently bring her to the Sword Pavilion.
However, carrying a grown woman on his back across thousands of li was impossible. Left with no alternative, he had crafted a coffin to transport her comfortably.
Bu Eun-seol spoke to her, but she still showed no signs of regaining consciousness.
The faint moan he had heard earlier must have slipped out naturally in her unconscious state.
"Endure just a little longer."
A-yeon lay deeply asleep, her long eyelashes lowered.
Enveloped in white cold energy, she looked like a spirit born from ice.
Bu Eun-seol let out a deep sigh before speaking again.
"We've arrived now."
Thud.
Closing the coffin once more, he unleashed a movement technique swift as a gale and dashed toward the massive temple ahead.
Whoosh—
The moment he arrived before the great gate, an indescribably sharp energy radiated from behind it.
'As expected of the Sword Pavilion.'
Though the Sword Pavilion was considered a branch of the Mystic Path, its disciples wielded sharp swords as their weapons.
Moreover, it was said that the disciples of the Sword Pavilion had mastered a profound mystic art, rivaling even Shaolin's Tendon Transformation Sutra.
In short, beyond this gate lay a gathering of unfathomably skilled swordsmen—so many that their collective presence alone sharpened the very air.
Because of this, an intangible, blade-like pressure spilled beyond the temple walls.
"Halt your steps."
Just as Bu Eun-seol was about to cross the threshold, two women standing on either side blocked his path.
"This is a place where disciples of the Mystic Path train. Outsiders are not permitted entry."
"One of your sect's disciples has suffered grave injuries."
"Injuries?"
Instead of answering, Bu Eun-seol gestured to the coffin.
Inside, A-yeon's face was visible, covered in a thin layer of frost as she slept.
"The Young Pavilion Lord!"
The two women gasped in shock before shouting at Bu Eun-seol.
"Is she dead?!"
"Not dead—merely unconscious."
One of the women swallowed her bewilderment and spoke.
"Then why have you placed her in a coffin?!"
"The situation was urgent. This was the only way to bring her."
Bu Eun-seol gazed at A-yeon lying within the coffin.
"Inform the Pavilion Lord immediately so she may be restored."
Then, he turned to leave.
Originally, he had intended to enter the Sword Pavilion and observe its inner workings and gather information.
But A-yeon's injuries were more severe than anticipated—so much so that she still hadn't regained consciousness—forcing him to abandon that plan.
"Wait!"
One of the women spoke urgently.
"Please, stay a moment longer."
Just as she was about to rush inside—
Creeeak—
The great gate swung open, and an elderly woman with hair as white as snow stepped out.
Her face was so deeply lined that her age was impossible to guess, yet her gaze was sharp as a blade, and her posture remained unbent.
This was none other than the highest elder of the Sword Pavilion—Neung-in Elder Nun.
"Why is there such a commotion outside the gate?"
At the Elder Nun's question, the woman bowed her head.
"This man has brought the injured Young Pavilion Lord."
"What?! A-yeon?!"
Only then did Neung-in notice A-yeon lying inside the coffin.
"A-yeon!"
The Elder Nun swiftly approached and placed her hand on A-yeon's body.
Immediately, a frigid chill, cold as ice, seeped into her fingertips. If she kept her hand there any longer, even her fingers might freeze solid.
"What has happened here?"
At her question, Bu Eun-seol answered.
"She was wounded in battle against the Black-White Witch and has yet to awaken."
"Then it was you who dealt with the Black-White Witch?"
'It seems the effect was real.'
Bu Eun-seol had frozen the Illusion King's body with the Glacier Thousand Streams Art.
And those who would examine the corpse of the Illusion King—who had posed as the Black-White Witch—would undoubtedly be the high command of the Martial Alliance.
Though he had used the Glacier Thousand Streams Art, he had been worried that those peerless grandmasters might still detect traces of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
Moreover, since he had immediately fashioned a coffin and rushed to Great Sword Mountain, he had no way of hearing the latest rumors in the martial world.
But judging from the Elder Nun's words, it was clear that the Martial Alliance had found no such traces.
"There were others involved... but yes."
Bu Eun-seol clasped his hands together.
"I pray for her swift recovery."
"Wait."
The Elder Nun urgently reached out, stopping him.
"Did the Black-White Witch use Ice Art?"
"No. I was the one who infused her with Cold Ice True Qi."
Bu Eun-seol calmly explained.
"After being struck by Mind Control Knowledge, she suffered an abnormal condition—as though her entire body were burning."
"Her entire body?"
"Indeed. Likely due to a misuse of internal energy. A pulse diagnosis will confirm it."
"You two—carry A-yeon to the Medicine Stone Courtyard at once."
At the Elder Nun's command, the women carefully lifted the coffin and carried it inside.
"Young Hero."
Then, she approached Bu Eun-seol.
"Could you explain in greater detail?"
She spoke with utmost courtesy.
"To heal A-yeon, we must first understand the full circumstances."
Bu Eun-seol had traversed a thousand li without hesitation to bring A-yeon to Mount Daegeom.
Compared to the hardships endured thus far, explaining the situation briefly was hardly difficult.
He nodded readily.
"I shall do so."
Following a woman's guidance, Bu Eun-seol entered a hall bearing a signboard that read Cloud Lotus Pavilion.
Inside, the furnishings were sparse—just a single worn-out table and a brazier for boiling water.
It seemed less a guest reception area and more a place where Sword Pavilion disciples came to meditate.
Tap, tap.
Then, the sound of light footsteps echoed as the door opened.
A figure strode in, preceded by six disciples.
She was a beauty who exuded a frigid aura, as if carved from ice, her features so striking they could rival A-yeon's.
'Her internal energy must be unfathomably profound.'
Yet Bu Eun-seol was not marveling at her appearance but at the sheer depth of her cultivation.
At a glance, she appeared to be in her thirties, but her true age was likely far older.
The proof lay in the stark white streaks at her temples—the only part of her hair that had aged.
Those who reach the pinnacle of internal energy can slow their aging.
Seeing her youthful face despite the silver strands, Bu Eun-seol assumed she had cultivated some profound mystic art to such heights.
As he stared at her, a disciple at her side hastily spoke up.
"This is our Sword Pavilion's Head of Still Heart Courtyard."
"Head of Still Heart Courtyard?"
Bu Eun-seol was unfamiliar with the Sword Pavilion's hierarchy.
But given the title Courtyard Head, he assumed she held a position equivalent to a sect's Hall Leader and clasped his hands in respect.
"The wanderer Seol-so greets the Head of Still Heart Courtyard."
"The Head of Still Heart Courtyard is Ok Yu-ha."
'Ok Yu-ha? The Sword Empress, Ok Yu-ha?'
For a moment, Bu Eun-seol's expression flickered with surprise.
The beauty before him was none other than the former Sword Empress, Ok Yu-ha.
She had once gone by the Dharma name Jeong-hae but abruptly adopted her secular name during her time in the martial world.
Rumors spread that she had abandoned monastic life, but after retiring from the Rivers and Lakes, she secluded herself once more in the Sword Pavilion.
Since then, news of her had vanished—though most assumed she had become the sect's leader.
Yet here she was, not as the Pavilion Lord but as the Head of Still Heart Courtyard?
'Moreover, she should be in her fifties.'
No matter how profound her internal energy or how much she had Returned to Youth, a woman nearing sixty could not possibly retain such a youthful appearance.
'This makes no sense.'
Just then, Ok Yu-ha, who had been observing him, let out a soft hum.
Despite her delicate beauty, her voice was slightly low and rough.
Only then did Bu Eun-seol realize why Ok Yu-ha's youthfulness was unnatural.
'It wasn't due to reaching the Extreme Realm and undergoing rejuvenation.'
Even if her skin remained taut, the vocal cords—governed by throat muscles—could not possibly revert to youth.
'Then... did she consume a Youthful-Complexion Fruit?'
Could Ok Yu-ha have ingested that legendary elixir—one so rare it stood alongside the Golden Spirit Immortal Fruit, a pill that granted eternal youth with a single dose?
Was that the reason?
If not, how else could her face remain young while her vocal cords aged?
As he pondered, Ok Yu-ha, who had been deep in thought, finally spoke.
"Were you a disciple of the North Sea Ice Palace?"
"No."
"Yet you injected Cold Ice True Qi into A-yeon. Where did you learn such Ice Arts?"
"Circumstances led me to it."
At his vague reply, Ok Yu-ha's brows lifted sharply.
"Then which sect do you belong to?"
"My master's orders forbid me from revealing it."
"Given that you've mastered Ice Arts of the Heterodox Path, you're clearly no disciple of the Righteous Faction..."
Her expression turned stern as she continued.
"No wanderer could refine Ice Arts to this level. Reveal your identity."
Bu Eun-seol was about to say he found this line of questioning troublesome.
But the icy chill in Ok Yu-ha's demeanor prompted an equally cold response.
"Why must I disclose such things to you?"
"I have no ties to the Sword Pavilion, nor have I ever met that woman before. Yet I crossed thousands of li solely to save her life."
His voice carried a frosty edge.
"I never expected lavish hospitality, but to be confined to this barren room and interrogated? Is this the conduct of the Sword Pavilion—a sanctuary revered throughout the Martial World?"
"Lavish hospitality?"
Ok Yu-ha's voice sharpened with anger.
"Her bloodline has frozen solid from Cold Ice True Qi, rendering recovery impossible. And you speak of lavish hospitality?"
The unexpected words made Bu Eun-seol's brow furrow.
"What do you mean?"
"A-yeon—though female, she was born with a Yang Radiance Body, inherently brimming with pure yang energy."
Ok Yu-ha shouted with an angry expression.
"You injected Cold Ice True Qi into her while she was unconscious and unable to circulate her qi... How could her body possibly endure that?"
Bu Eun-seol couldn't hide his surprise.
A-yeon had the constitution of a Yang Brilliance Body, inherently possessing Extreme Yang energy?
"I didn't know that. However—"
Bu Eun-seol calmly explained.
"At the time, an unknown heat flowed through her meridians as if melting them. I merely used Cold Ice True Qi to suppress it."
"That's nothing but an excuse."
In truth, Ok Yu-ha was the one being unreasonable.
As an outsider, Bu Eun-seol had no way of discerning A-yeon's qi circulation, nor could he have known about her innate constitution.
Had he not infused her with Cold Ice True Qi, A-yeon would have already died before ever reaching this place.
Yet Ok Yu-ha continued to blame Bu Eun-seol alone.
Tap, tap.
At that moment, an elderly woman with snow-white hair neatly tied up entered the room with light footsteps.
It was none other than Neung-in Elder Nun, the highest elder of the Sword Pavilion.
"From what I've heard, this young man acted out of goodwill when he infused her with qi."
Neung-in Elder Nun spoke plainly as she looked at Ok Yu-ha.
"Yet you still insist on blaming him?"
Ok Yu-ha responded with clear displeasure.
"Men of the martial world always presume to lay hands on others' bodies under the guise of kindness."
Her gaze remained fixed on Bu Eun-seol.
"Their reckless actions have killed more people than even the blades of martial artists."
Bu Eun-seol, who had been listening quietly, nearly burst into laughter at the sheer absurdity.
Was this truly the former Sword Empress, a once-renowned swordswoman of peerless reputation?
"I've done what I had to do. I'll take my leave now."
As Bu Eun-seol rose from his seat, Ok Yu-ha spoke coldly.
"You think you can just walk away after reducing our successor to this state?"
Bu Eun-seol replied with equal frost.
"So saving someone from drowning means I must now hand over my belongings as well?"
"What did you say?"
Bu Eun-seol looked down at her and said,
"Had I known it would come to this, I should've just left her to die on the ground."
Then, without so much as a backward glance, he turned to leave.
Ok Yu-ha's voice turned icy.
"You truly have no sense of your place."
"You have a rather peculiar way of speaking, Pavilion Master."
Bu Eun-seol exhaled a low sigh.
"You keep dragging 'men' into every sentence. Did some man swindle you?"
He was merely pointing out her unreasonable tone.
But he hadn't expected those words to trigger her fury.
"You dare flap your tongue so carelessly?"
A pure white energy surged from Ok Yu-ha's pupils.
"Did you truly believe you could mock This Lady and walk away unscathed?"
'This Lady?'
Bu Eun-seol tilted his head in confusion.
Not only was her sudden reaction bizarre, but her speech now resembled that of a petulant twenty-year-old girl.
"When did I mock you?"
"Silence!"
Sshhk!
Ok Yu-ha thrust her index and middle fingers toward Bu Eun-seol.
Though it was merely an extension of her fingers, the energy radiating from them was sharper than any treasured sword.
'Is this really the same woman who was once the Sword Empress? How can she be so reckless?'
Until now, every grandmaster of the Righteous Faction he had met, though strong-willed, had at least possessed sound judgment.
Yet the former Sword Empress of the Sword Pavilion—a place revered as a sacred land of the orthodox sects—was this frivolous?
Tzzzt—!
Though his thoughts were lengthy, his movements were swift.
Bu Eun-seol instantly evaded her attack using Swift Shadowless.
Yet her fingers remained locked onto his Chest Center acupoint.
With just a single finger extended, all the major acupoints on his chest—Chest Center, Spirit Ruins, Hidden Gate—were exposed at once.
'Frivolous as she may seem, her martial arts are formidable.'
The strike Ok Yu-ha had unleashed was so profound that no matter which way he moved, he couldn't evade her finger-blade.
"Kneel."
Ok Yu-ha's voice was glacial.
"Unless you wish to be turned into a beehive."
Under normal circumstances, unable to break her technique in such a short time, Bu Eun-seol would have had no choice but to surrender.
If he resisted, he would be fighting the Sword Pavilion's leadership—and by extension, inviting the entire sect's disciples to attack him.
CRACK—!
In that instant, a thunderous roar erupted from Bu Eun-seol's left fist.
He was a man who knew no fear, one whom threats could not sway. Even if this were not the Sword Pavilion but the very halls of Hell's Yama King, it would make no difference to him.
BOOOOM—!
An overwhelming surge of fist energy spiraled outward.
Without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol disregarded Ok Yu-ha's threat and unleashed his power.