Chapter 409
"Hall Leader In..."
Bu Eun-seol tightly grasped the hands of the deceased In-guk.
Though their time together had been brief, during his stay with the Beggars' Sect, he had faintly sensed the warmth and kindness in In-guk's nature.
"May you rest in eternal peace."
Carefully, Bu Eun-seol lifted In-guk's body.
Though a disciple of the Beggars' Sect, In-guk had been a righteous man who knew how to help others.
Now that he had shed his mortal form and departed the Saha World, he deserved peaceful slumber.
"Since he struggled to uphold the duty of a beggar, he would likely find an elaborate grave cumbersome."
After respectfully burying In-guk, Bu Eun-seol examined the piled-up corpses of the vagrants.
The bodies had been burned with Fire Essence Stones scattered over them, leaving behind only charred remains that barely retained their shape.
But suddenly, amidst the half-burned bones and flesh, a strange glimmer caught his eye.
'That—'
Whoosh!
As Bu Eun-seol activated Void Object Retrieval, a partially burned object floated before his eyes.
The round, bead-like object emitted a faint glow, and within it, an orange light flickered as if containing flames.
It looked as though a tiny candle had been carved inside the small bead.
'An artificial inner elixir?'
A flash of realization ignited in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
The bead extracted from the vagrants' bodies—wasn't it the same artificial inner elixir that the Three Realms had been producing all along?
"No, this is a completely different elixir."
The inner elixirs discovered so far had been blood-red beads with a crimson sheen.
But the artificial elixir found within the vagrants' corpses was tinged with an orange hue, as if it held flames within.
"So this was the goal."
An inexplicable heat emanated from the elixir.
"They were refining the elixir."
He didn't know what method had been used, but the artificial elixir he had just discovered was different from before.
Like the inner elixir of a Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp, it possessed the properties of Extreme Yang.
"They stole the Fire Essence Stones to create this."
The culprit seemed to have used the Fire Essence Stones and some unknown method to burn human bodies, producing an elixir imbued with Extreme Yang Qi.
"There's something more to this."
Simply burning vagrants injected with Demon Seeds wouldn't produce a fire-attribute elixir.
Which meant... there must be some secret technique involved.
"Someone other than the Three Realms."
The Three Realms had always prioritized secrecy above all else.
If they had wanted to conduct experiments, they wouldn't have needed to raid the Martial Alliance's warehouse, nor would they have made the mistake of drawing public attention with such actions.
"I don't know what their goal is, but..."
Originally, he had intended to complete his investigation of the Fire Essence Stones and return to the Martial Alliance.
But now, his thoughts had changed.
"I'll catch them."
A bloody light flickered in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
If he walked away now, another vagrant could be killed in the next moment.
That wouldn't be the outcome In-guk—who had risked his life to protect them—would have wanted.
Bu Eun-seol was determined to hunt down the murderer to the very end.
The intelligence networks of the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths were similar in structure, yet their methods differed slightly.
The Demonic Path's intelligence organization collected all raw, unprocessed information first.
Within their network, they filtered out unreliable rumors and uncertain data to extract what was necessary.
In contrast, the Righteous Path's intelligence organization primarily relied on informants refining information immediately before sending it up the chain.
Thus, in terms of accuracy, the Righteous Path's intelligence was superior. But when it came to breadth and speed, the Demonic Path held the advantage.
Currently, Bu Eun-seol had access not only to the Demonic Path's intelligence network but also to the Martial Alliance's own intelligence unit, the Absolute Peak Squad.
Though the Absolute Peak Squad handled lower-grade information, by compiling and analyzing data from both the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths, Bu Eun-seol could find the information he needed faster than any other intelligence organization.
"Radiant Yang Adept..."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes narrowed as he examined the assignment slip delivered by the Death Soul Squad.
The culprit who had stolen the Fire Essence Stones and burned the vagrants alive.
He was none other than Radiant Yang Adept, an elder of the Blazing Flame Sacred Palace.
"Why would an elder of the Blazing Flame Sacred Palace do such a thing?"
The Blazing Flame Sacred Palace.
A sect operating between the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths in the Southern Barbarian Region, renowned for its martial arts utilizing powerful Extreme Yang Qi—also known as the Sun Palace.
And yet, Radiant Yang Adept, an elder of this very sect, was the perpetrator behind both the Fire Essence Stone theft and the vagrant murders.
"Then, was the Fire Wheel Crystal the secret to creating fire-attribute elixirs?"
The Fire Wheel Crystal.
A treasure of the Blazing Flame Sacred Palace, said to contain the purest Fire Qi in the world.
According to the intelligence gathered by the Death Soul Squad, the Radiant Yang Adept was being pursued by masters of the Blazing Flame Sacred Palace after stealing the Fire Wheel Crystal.
This meant the creation of fire-attribute internal cores infused with extreme yang energy must be closely tied to the theft of the Fire Wheel Crystal.
"So that's why neither the righteous nor demonic factions could track him down."
An elder from a sect located in the distant Beyond the Frontier had secretly infiltrated the Central Plains and wreaked havoc—no intelligence network could have possibly detected him.
Now, Bu Eun-seol knew exactly who the culprit was—and what he wanted.
"This is the final act."
He intended to complete the mission assigned by the Martial Alliance while also offering solace to the unjustly slain vagrants.
"To think I'd get caught by some meddlesome figure..."
Having fled Wuirak Village, the Radiant Yang Adept was now pushing his Lightness Skill to its limits.
The moment he saw Bu Eun-seol flinging hidden blades, he realized his every move had been exposed—and that the Martial Alliance had sent pursuers after him.
But he was absolutely confident he wouldn't be caught.
Once one reached the rank of elder in a sect, one inevitably became intimately familiar with how alliances operated.
'They wouldn't deploy a massive force over something like this.'
No matter how much the Martial Alliance preached martial justice...
They wouldn't mobilize a vast army just because some Fire Essence Stones were stolen or a few vagrants were wrongfully killed.
Prestige, justification, and majesty.
The righteous faction valued those three above all else.
Breaking into a Martial Alliance branch warehouse? Massacring vagrants?
They would never send a large-scale force.
If they did, the humiliating fact that their weapon warehouse had been plundered would become widely known, and they'd face criticism for their lax branch management.
"In cases like this, it becomes a war of attrition."
Without even bothering to cover his tracks, the Radiant Yang Adept immediately headed for Mount Uiryong.
Mount Uiryong was where the Demon Hall Branch and the Martial Alliance Branch faced each other.
In short, it was a place where the Martial Alliance's main forces could never enter—and even the pursuers from the Blazing Flame Sacred Palace wouldn't dare approach recklessly...
He planned to hide in this fiercely contested border between the righteous and demonic factions and endure for the long haul.
"Truly, old ginger is the sharpest—his schemes run deep."
Upon receiving the report that the Radiant Yang Adept had fled into Mount Uiryong, Bu Eun-seol nodded.
Martial masters were different from ordinary people.
They were swifter than wild beasts, and their stamina and willpower far surpassed that of common folk.
If a martial master of his caliber hid in the mountains, it would require a massive force to conduct a thorough search.
But deploying a large-scale investigation in a mountain straddling the border between the two warring factions?
Nearly impossible.
The Radiant Yang Adept had chosen the optimal location to evade the Martial Alliance's relentless pursuit.
"His calculation must be that the Martial Alliance wouldn't risk clashing with the Demon Hall just to catch a thief who stole Fire Essence Stones."
Bu Eun-seol nodded again.
"And since even the Blazing Flame Sacred Palace's forces can't recklessly approach, it's truly killing two birds with one stone."
A faint smile curled at the corner of his lips.
"But you thought too hard. Far too hard."
Swish, swish.
Bu Eun-seol retrieved a sheet of fine black paper and swiftly wrote a letter in the Demon Hall's secret language. He then discreetly handed it to an Death Soul Squad member for immediate delivery to Yu Un-ryong.
"It's over now."
After a brief glance at the distant sky, Bu Eun-seol immediately activated his Lightness Skill.
His destination was the Taiyuan Branch of the Demon Hall, located on Mount Uiryong.
A state of emergency was immediately declared at the Taiyuan Branch.
—"Commence emergency drills starting today!"
Rumors spread that the Sanghak Unit Commander of the Demon Hall—who had been covertly inspecting branches across the martial world—had made an unannounced visit.
And upon witnessing the lax discipline of the Taiyuan Branch's martial artists, he unleashed a thunderous reprimand.
—"This Taiyuan Prefecture borders the Martial Alliance's branch! And yet you've completely let go of your vigilance, drowning in complacency?!"
The branch leader's face turned deathly pale.
The Sanghak Unit Commander of the Death Shadow War Unit was none other than the most trusted subordinate of the terrifying Heir of the Demon Hall, the Martial Soul Lord. A single word from him could send heads rolling in an instant.
—"W-We will rectify this at once!"
As the trembling branch leader prostrated himself, the Sanghak Unit Commander issued a stern order.
—"Assemble near Mount Uiryong and begin a training exercise to display our might! Show them who truly controls this territory! If you fail to demonstrate proper majesty, I will personally behead you!"
Clutching his trembling chest, the branch leader hastily gathered his weapons.
Then, he mobilized all the martial artists of the Taiyuan Branch and marched them toward Mount Uiryong.
It was as if they intended to pacify the entire Taiyuan Prefecture at any moment.
"Those bastards?"
Watching this unfold, even the Martial Alliance's Taiyuan Branch saw their anger flare up.
"They've got some nerve. Daring to conduct training right in front of our branch at Mount Uiryong?"
The two branches facing Mount Uiryong had tacitly agreed to treat the area as a buffer zone, with neither faction crossing over.
But now, under the pretext of an emergency drill, the Demon Hall's branch had pushed all the way to the foot of Mount Uiryong. The Martial Alliance couldn't just stand by and watch.
"Let's show them the might of our alliance!"
In the end, the Martial Alliance's Taiyuan Branch also mobilized all its forces. They surrounded the opposite side of Mount Uiryong where the Demon Hall had encroached.
Their resolute will was clear—if the enemy took even a single step beyond this point, war would break out immediately.
"Cross this line, and it's war!"
As the Martial Alliance and Demon Hall branch forces faced off, the area around Mount Uiryong became enveloped in a murderous killing intent, forming an impenetrable encirclement.
Watching this unfold, the Radiant Yang Adept, who had been hiding in Mount Uiryong, felt his stomach twist in panic.
'What in the world is happening?!'
As the Demon Hall and Martial Alliance tightly surrounded the mountain, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
'Did the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths really mobilize just because I burned a few vagrants?'
Caught off guard by this unexpected turn of events, the Radiant Yang Adept was so startled he nearly lost his wits.
There was only one reason he had gone so far as to feed Demon Seeds to vagrants to create artificial inner cores.
He knew all too well that even if they were massacred, the sects of the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths wouldn't pay much attention to mere vagrants.
But his expectations had been completely wrong.
Not only the Martial Alliance, but even the Demon Hall had stepped forward to encircle Mount Uiryong.
'Even if someone had committed high treason, the combined forces of the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths wouldn't act this aggressively.'
As the standoff dragged on endlessly, the Radiant Yang Adept knew he had to make a decision.
If the masters of the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths began searching while he was trapped in this encirclement, he'd be caught like a rat with nowhere to run.
And in the worst-case scenario, this might be the perfect opportunity for the masters of the Blazing Flame Sacred Palace to arrive.
'I don't care about anything else, but I absolutely cannot be captured by someone from the Sacred Palace.'
He clenched the Fire Wheel Crystal tightly in his hand.
With this and the Demon Seeds, he could create as many extreme-yang inner cores as he wanted.
And if he could just make a few more... he could finally craft the Blazing Flame One-Heaven Sword Secret Pill he had dreamed of.
There was no way he could stop here.
"There's still a way out."
Fortunately, the two factions had only surrounded Mount Uiryong from both sides—they hadn't yet begun a full-scale search.
Meaning, if he moved toward the weaker flank of the encirclement before they started searching, he could still escape.
Just as the Radiant Yang Adept, having made up his mind, was about to take a step—
Flash.
A sharp glint of insight crossed his mind. Suddenly, he remembered one crucial fact.
"It's a trap."
If they had already set up such an airtight encirclement...
They wouldn't need to waste time—they could just storm the mountain and start searching immediately.
But the fact that they were holding their positions without moving...
They were predicting that he, unable to endure hiding any longer, would try to break through the weakest point of the encirclement—and luring him right into their hands.
Hahaha. If I were some hot-blooded young fool, I'd have fallen for this trap instantly.
A cold smile curled on the Radiant Yang Adept's lips.
'They set a trap exploiting the unease of a hunted man. There must be someone with extraordinary cunning behind this. But it's futile.'
He had survived countless crises and trials over his seventy years of life.
At this age, he would never act rashly and ruin everything.
'Even if they do search, I'll find a way to escape.'
In that case, there was only one thing to do now.
He had to find a place where he could hold out in Mount Uiryong for a long time and move there.
'This spot will do.'
After scouring every corner of Mount Uiryong for some time, the Radiant Yang Adept found the perfect location.
A natural cave near a sheer cliff, beneath which a roaring river flowed.
"If I stay here, I can hold out for quite a while... And even in the worst-case scenario, I can always jump into that river."
Just as the Radiant Yang Adept, having discovered the cave, let out a sigh of relief and smiled—
"I knew you'd come here."
A man in white robes slowly stepped out from within the cave.
His frame was slender, his appearance gentle—like a scholar who wouldn't even be able to swat a bug properly.
It was none other than Bu Eun-seol, disguised as Seon-u Jin.
"You."
The Radiant Yang Adept's eyes widened as he instantly recognized him—the man who had thrown the dagger during his fight with the beggars in Wuirak Village.
"Did you lay an encirclement to lure me here?"
"How else could I find a rat hiding in the vast expanse of Mount Uiryong?"
Only then did the Radiant Yang Adept realize everything.
The forces of both the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths deployed below, forming a tight encirclement—it was all a scheme to drive him into this cave.
After all, in this vast mountain, the only place where one could hide long-term and escape in the worst-case scenario was here.
'But this bastard is alone.'
Confirming that there were no allies nearby, the Radiant Yang Adept thrust out both palms.
"Scram!"
There was no need for conversation.
He had to knock this bastard aside and flee elsewhere immediately. If he wasted time, he'd be trapped with no way out.
Whoosh!
A surge of scorching heat poured out around Bu Eun-seol's body, accompanied by a white mist.
'So this is the Extreme Yang Arts of the Blazing Flame Sacred Palace.'
Every single movement in the martial arts of the Blazing Flame Sacred Palace contained the Extreme Yang Force and searing heat, each with devastating power.
The overwhelming heat distorted his senses, making it impossible to tell from which direction the palm energy would strike.
"Interesting."
Bu Eun-seol immediately extended his left hand, clashing directly with the Radiant Yang Adept's palm energy.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, the Radiant Yang Adept was forced back three steps.
But Bu Eun-seol stood firm, unmoving like a celestial being.
"For a young man, you've cultivated remarkable Internal Power."
Though shocked by Bu Eun-seol's level of Internal Energy, the Radiant Yang Adept curled his lips into a sinister smile.
"But you've made a mistake. The Blazing Flame Traceless Palm of our palace melts meridians regardless of one's Internal Power level—"
Yet he couldn't finish his sentence.
Because the man who should have had his meridians melted and his body's moisture evaporated was standing there completely unharmed.
Not only that—instead of the Extreme Yang Qi swirling around his own right palm, he felt a sharp, needle-like pain.
'This—'
As he looked down at his palm, the Radiant Yang Adept suddenly realized that the mucus in his nostrils had frozen solid.
Glancing at the ground beneath him, he saw the once-lush grass now stiff and white, as if covered in frost.
"You're from the North Sea Ice Palace!"
Only then did he understand—Bu Eun-seol hadn't just neutralized the Blazing Flame Traceless Palm with formidable Ice Art.
At the moment their palms collided, an overwhelming Extreme Yin Qi had surged into his body, freezing him and his surroundings solid.
"I'll melt that Ice Art in an instant!"
Enraged, the Radiant Yang Adept channeled his Internal Power in one explosive burst.
'Impressive Extreme Yang Arts.'
Bu Eun-seol narrowed his eyes.
Merely gathering his Internal Power had already heated the surrounding air. Every breath he took scorched his lungs with unbearable heat.
"Die!"
As the Radiant Yang Adept unleashed another palm strike, a blazing light—like the sun itself—erupted from his palm.
He had unleashed an overwhelming Extreme Yang Force, intense enough to turn the entire world into a ball of fire.
Whoooosh!
Bu Eun-seol calmly raised his left hand. A pale blue light shimmered, and a frigid cold surged forth.
Sssss—!
When the Glacier Thousand Streams Art clashed with the Blazing Flame Traceless Palm, white steam exploded outward in an instant.
The Radiant Yang Adept was a master who had honed the Blazing Flame Traceless Palm for a long time.
The profundity of his palm energy and the fluidity of his movements surpassed Bu Eun-seol's Glacier Thousand Streams Art.
"Ghk—!"
Yet, in the end, the Radiant Yang Adept was the one defeated.
Covered in a thin layer of frost, he staggered back five steps with a pained groan.
Though Bu Eun-seol had only recently learned Ice Art, his Internal Energy surpassed four centuries of cultivation.
The sheer gap in power rendered the intricacies of the Blazing Flame Traceless Palm utterly ineffective, cutting it short.
"Fine!"
The Radiant Yang Adept let out a scream-like roar, then pulled out an orange-hued Internal Core from his robes and swallowed it whole.
It was the Extreme-Yang Inner Core—forged by burning vagrants using the Fire Wheel Crystal and Demon Seeds.
Fwoooosh!
The moment he swallowed it, an immense heat erupted from his entire body.
Crackle—!
As he thrust out both palms, an overwhelming pressure gathered, forming a radiant point of light as intense as the sun.
Sizzle—!
The flames swirling in his palm took on a strange state—neither gas nor solid—as they churned violently.
Huuu—!
Finally, the blazing orb, as hot as the sun itself, began to writhe and morph—taking the shape of a sword.
One of the supreme ultimate arts of the Blazing Flame Sacred Palace—the Blazing Flame Ionization Sword—had been forged.