Chapter 464
Meanwhile, Yuk Cheong-a, who had gone to find the Jongri Family, met with Jongri Sa-hyeon to discuss several matters.
Then she climbed Mount Geumwang once more to persuade Bukgung Ryeong again.
However, when she reached the vicinity where she had last met him, she found a massive boulder standing upright.
As she approached, she saw that large characters had been carved into the stone:
—I will not leave the Martial World. But I will not join the Martial Alliance either.
Bukgung Ryeong had known Yuk Cheong-a would come looking for him again, so he had used his Inner Energy Bullet Art to carve the message into the rock before departing.
Staring blankly at the words etched into the unyielding stone with a single, fluid stroke, her eyes suddenly gleamed.
"It seems he's changed his mind about leaving the Martial World, at least."
The look in Bukgung Ryeong's eyes the day before had been like cold ashes.
No emotion had risen within them, nor had there been even a trace of lingering attachment.
Yet the words carved into the stone now overflowed with vitality and vigor.
In other words, in just a single day—
He had completely changed his mind and regained his spirit.
"What in the world could have happened overnight?"
Bu Eun-seol, who had been reminiscing about drinking with Bukgung Ryeong all night, smiled faintly and said,
"Perhaps after wandering the Martial World and enduring much penance, he finally attained enlightenment."
"You think so?"
"Isn't it common for old masters of that age to suddenly change their whims?"
"Well... I suppose that could be the case."
Yuk Cheong-a shook her head.
"Enlightenment always comes suddenly, after all."
Gazing at the distant sky, she sighed deeply and said,
"I knew inviting the Bullet King to the Alliance wouldn't be easy... But I didn't expect him to vanish like this."
Despite her words, she didn't look particularly regretful.
"Well then, let's head back."
As she turned to leave, Yuk Cheong-a suddenly seemed to remember something and looked at Bu Eun-seol.
"Aren't you disappointed, Commander Seon-u?"
"About what?"
"This is your first failure among all the missions you've undertaken so far."
"Not at all."
Bu Eun-seol's expression turned serious.
"If I had considered this a mission, I would never have accepted it in the first place."
Understanding his meaning, Yuk Cheong-a chuckled.
"So, from the very beginning, even in Commander Seon-u's eyes, this was a mission with no chance of success?"
"That's right. A man who has stood alone and unrivaled in the Martial World his entire life—if he were to change his mind just because we persuaded him, that would be the truly strange thing."
Bu Eun-seol added one more remark.
"Though I'm sure you had a contingency plan in mind, Hall Leader."
Yuk Cheong-a looked slightly surprised and asked,
"A contingency plan?"
"Even if recruiting the Bullet King was impossible, you must have prepared an alternative way to achieve comparable merit, no?"
Bu Eun-seol smiled.
"And I suspect it has something to do with the Jongri Family."
Unable to hide her impressed expression, Yuk Cheong-a nodded.
"As expected, nothing escapes Commander Seon-u's eyes."
Then she spoke frankly.
"The Jongri Family has long been researching how to restore beings like the Human Blossoms and Soulless Ones—monstrosities that have appeared in the Martial World—back to their original states."
Yuk Cheong-a smiled faintly.
"And apparently, their research has finally borne some results. They've partially deciphered the toxicity of the Human Blossoms and can now revert recently poisoned Soulless Ones back to normal."
Bu Eun-seol was greatly surprised.
Though he held the information networks of both the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths in his grasp, he had never heard such news before.
Meaning, the Jongri Family's research had not yet been revealed to the Martial World.
Which implied that Yuk Cheong-a either had informants who could access the Jongri Family's secrets—
Or that she possessed a special intelligence network unknown to Bu Eun-seol.
'A network even the Death Soul Squad and the Peak Realm Pavilion can't access...'
In short, Yuk Cheong-a had the means to obtain information that Bu Eun-seol could not.
'Of course, she might have independently placed informants within the Jongri Family, or there could be a new intelligence network known only to the Martial Alliance's high command. But...'
There was also the slim possibility that she was connected to the Three Realms.
"I see. I wasn't aware of this."
When Bu Eun-seol replied with an indifferent expression, Yuk Cheong-a laughed and said,
"If the Alliance supports and collaborates with the Jongri Family's research, it would surely bring great benefits."
"Indeed, it would."
As Bu Eun-seol feigned admiration, Yuk Cheong-a shrugged.
"Since the Bullet King has already left, I plan to stay with the Jongri Family for a while and secure their cooperation on this matter."
She smiled warmly.
"There's nothing more for you to do here, Commander, so you may return to the Alliance first."
"Understood."
Bu Eun-seol parted ways with Yuk Cheong-a and immediately headed for the Martial Alliance.
But his expression was grave.
Yuk Cheong-a.
He had thought her merely an ambitious young woman.
But now, he saw that she, too, had many aspects worth being wary of.
'I'll have to be careful.'
While acting as Seon-u Jin, he couldn't afford to let his guard down for even a moment.
Once again reminded that the Martial Alliance was a Dragon Pool and Tiger Den—a den of dragons and snakes—Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath and unleashed his Lightness Skill.
The next day.
Through the Death Soul Squad, Bu Eun-seol sent orders for Seo Jin-ha to switch identities with him.
In other words, Seo Jin-ha would be the one to enter the Martial Alliance for the first time.
Fortunately, there were no major incidents in the Martial World at the moment, but just in case, he sent Soyo to Seo Jin-ha's side.
It was a precaution against any unforeseen circumstances.
Especially now that he knew of Yuk Cheong-a's exceptional intelligence network, it was best to maintain absolute perfection while acting as Seon-u Jin.
Having returned to his original identity, Bu Eun-seol immediately headed for Nine-Bend Mountain.
He was searching for the black-clothed man who used the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade's martial arts, as mentioned by Bukgung Ryeong.
'The fact that he's staying at Nine-Bend Mountain is unsettling.'
Nine-Bend Mountain was also called Mount Mao, the former site of the Mount Mao Sect.
Recently, soulless ones had frequently appeared near Nine-Bend Mountain, and before anyone knew it, the area had become a cursed land where people no longer dared to set foot.
After all that effort to eradicate the soulless ones...
Yet they still remained scattered throughout the martial world.
Which meant the Three Realms were still secretly manufacturing Human Blossoms.
'Was the Great Cloud Forest just one branch?'
Bu Eun-seol had believed that by crushing the Great Cloud Forest, which had colluded with the Hell Blood Citadel, he had wiped out all the soulless ones.
But they still appeared in the martial world.
In fact, given that their numbers seemed to be increasing, the Great Cloud Forest must have been only a small part of the operation.
'Then the black-clad man being in Nine-Bend Mountain, where soulless ones emerge, can't be a coincidence.'
He might not know much else, but the fact that someone wielding the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade's saber techniques was staying in Nine-Bend Mountain?
That couldn't possibly be an accident.
'Of course, he could simply be honing his martial arts against soulless ones. But—'
The Bloody Tears Seven Forms were far too powerful—practicing them against living martial artists would be impractical.
'With that, his techniques wouldn't improve.'
The strength of soulless ones lay not in martial skill but in their tenacious vitality.
Thus, rather than executing intricate techniques, it was more effective to rely on brute force.
They were utterly unsuitable for refining supreme ultimate arts like the Bloody Tears Seven Forms, which demanded precision and mastery.
Which meant this man was undoubtedly connected to the Three Realms.
'I'll find out when I get there.'
Bu Eun-seol propelled himself forward in a single leap.
He would find the man who wielded the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade's techniques and unravel the secret.
Before he knew it, he had arrived in Guyong County, Jiangsu.
Nine-Bend Mountain, also called Mount Mao, was nestled in the middle of the Yeongjin Mountain Range, its treacherous terrain making it a place where few dared to tread.
'Even martial artists are nowhere to be seen now.'
Not long ago, it was said that many martial artists had come to Nine-Bend Mountain to hunt soulless ones and claim bounties.
But now, whether they had caught enough or the soulless ones had simply stopped appearing... the area around the mountain was littered with bloodstains, and the stench of rotting corpses hung thick in the air.
No matter how much they cleaned, the smell never faded, and with no more soulless ones to hunt, martial artists stopped coming. Even the local officials seemed to have given up on clearing the area.
After surveying his surroundings, Bu Eun-seol took out a fine cloth from his sleeve to block the faint toxins and overwhelming stench.
While it could filter out poison, the stench was so overpowering that wearing the cloth was the only way to endure it.
Human Blossoms. Artificial Dantians. Soulless ones.
The Three Realms still hadn't let go of these things.
Which meant they were still in conflict—still pursuing something.
But the ones suffering the consequences were ordinary people and martial artists.
'I'll destroy them. Without fail.'
No matter how long it took.
Bu Eun-seol swore to himself that he would hunt down every last faction of the Three Realms and crush them all.
Crunch. Crunch.
After walking deep into the mountains, a thick fog had risen without him noticing.
Bu Eun-seol quickly realized that the mist blanketing the forest wasn't natural—it was the result of an esoteric ritual art set up in these woods.
'Left behind by the Mount Mao Sect from the past.'
Most of the Mount Mao Sect's spell arts were derived from Daoist practices.
But at some point, they had begun dabbling not just in Daoist arts but also in various demonic gate great methods and burial arts.
Worse still, their disciples had freely altered those secret arts, making it impossible even for fellow sect members to undo each other's work.
In the end, the Mount Mao Sect had declined and fallen into ruin.
As a result, many of the esoteric ritual arts and spell techniques set up throughout Nine-Bend Mountain had never been dispelled.
"No wonder."
Now Bu Eun-seol understood why martial artists who came to hunt soulless ones on Nine-Bend Mountain had continued to perish.
The secret arts embedded in this mountain couldn't be unraveled with mechanism formations.
In other words, because mystical spell techniques were scattered everywhere, even the most skilled masters would lose their way or fall into confusion.
And in that exhausted, disoriented state, if they encountered soulless ones—they would be gravely wounded or killed.
Moreover, the deeper he went, the more a sticky, nauseating stench seeped into his nostrils.
'Definitely different from a boundary formation.'
The fog rising from all directions didn't just obscure vision—it muddled the senses as well.
If one tried to replicate this effect with a boundary formation? They'd have to raze the entire forest.
'Can I break it by force?'
Though Bu Eun-seol had mastered numerous orthodox and unorthodox martial arts during his travels, he knew nothing about spell techniques.
After silently pressing forward for a long while, he finally stopped.
The fog had grown so thick that it was on the verge of shattering not just his physical senses but even the resilience of his spirit and mind.
Of course, having achieved the Spiritual Aperture Breakthrough, no force could break his will—but still.
'No choice.'
Whoooosh—
A crimson energy swirled violently around Bu Eun-seol's left fist.
Since he didn't know how to dispel spell techniques, he would unleash the Seven Forms of the Fist Demon repeatedly, using sheer force to destroy the energies blanketing the forest.
Fwoom—
But just then, a low sound of breaking air echoed.
At the same time, a small shadow appeared before Bu Eun-seol.
Dressed in a blue martial uniform rarely seen in the martial world, with a large glass bottle hanging at her waist.
Her hair was disheveled, and between the tangled strands, patches of what looked like scabs and pus clung to her skin.
A crone—grotesquely ugly.
"Why have you come to Nine-Bend Mountain?"
Her voice was as low and eerie as a raven's cry.
If she had been an ordinary woman, he wouldn't have even bothered to answer her.
But thanks to his grandfather Bu Jan-yang's teachings, Bu Eun-seol had developed a deep respect for the elderly.
"I have business here."
At his blunt reply, the old woman's brows furrowed deeply.
"Which sect's disciple are you?"
"Just a wanderer."
Seeing the cloth mask commonly used by mercenaries covering Bu Eun-seol's face, the old woman nodded as if she had figured out his identity.
"A mercenary, then. Here to hunt the Soulless Ones wandering Nine-Bend Mountain for a few coins."
When Bu Eun-seol remained silent, she spoke again.
"Turn back. The Soulless Ones here aren't the kind you can handle with mere recklessness."
Behind the mask, the corner of Bu Eun-seol's lips twitched slightly.
Though her words were curt, there was a trace of concern in the old woman's voice—genuine worry for another.
"It's not just about the Soulless Ones."
"Hmph."
The old woman let out a cold laugh and turned away.
"If you don't want to die, you'd best turn back."
She swiftly moved past Bu Eun-seol and strode ahead.
Though her face was deeply wrinkled, her figure was lean, without an ounce of excess flesh, and her footsteps were as light as a young person's.
She was undoubtedly an old woman who had cultivated exceptional martial arts.
Thud. Thud.
Bu Eun-seol walked forward at a measured pace.
His objective was solely the wandering swordsman who wielded the Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
Whatever the old woman did was of no concern to him.
'Hm?'
Just as he was deep into the forest, Bu Eun-seol halted.
At the edge of the woods, the old woman had stopped in her tracks, standing rigidly still.
"Is something wrong?"
Bu Eun-seol quickened his pace to her side.
Then he saw it—a strange mist spreading like a wall before them.
With every step, an intangible flame seemed to sear his legs, sending waves of pain through him.
Hiss—
As he took another step, white smoke began to rise from his feet.
The heat was no illusion—it was undeniably real.
'A spell.'
Mechanism Formations typically confused the senses, but spells inflicted direct harm like this.
"Hmm."
The old woman seemed to ponder something for a moment before raising both hands to her waist.
Whoosh—
Then, instead of an internal energy shockwave, a clear, translucent energy surged from her body.
Splash—!
As the gathered force reached its peak, transparent droplets of water rose from the glass bottle hanging at her waist, floating into the air.
Whoooosh—!
Finally, with a thrust of her palms, the droplets shot outward, dispersing the mist that had settled around them.
'Water Spirit Qi... So she's a master from the Divine Water Palace.'
Seeing the translucent energy, Bu Eun-seol immediately recognized her as a master of the Divine Water Palace.
The Divine Water Palace—one of the Seven Great Secret Palaces of the Martial World, seated at the pinnacle among them.
Led by the Water Spirit Neung-gyeong, one of the Four Divine Figures, who wielded Water Spirit Qi with absolute mastery.
Unlike the Thunder Spirit Gate, where only those born with the Thunder Spirit Physique could use its martial arts, the Divine Water Palace could infuse others with Water Spirit Qi.
Meaning, even without being born with the Water Spirit Constitution, one could still wield its power—just like the old woman before him.
Swoooosh—!
She converted the water in her bottle into Water Spirit Qi, swiftly erasing the lingering spell energy in the forest.
'A convenient power.'
Bu Eun-seol gave a slight nod.
The power of the Four Divine Figures originated from nature itself.
Thus, it carried an Evil-Breaking energy capable of naturally dispelling corrupt and impure forces.
"Hmph."
Finally, after clearing the mist, the old woman exhaled roughly.
Then, noticing Bu Eun-seol still standing behind her, she scoffed.
"Lucky you. Normally, you'd have had to turn back right here."
"By all rights, I should've chased you out of Nine-Bend Mountain, but I'm busy, so I'll let you go."
Without reason, she spat out sharp words before vanishing into the distance.
Yet Bu Eun-seol wore a faint smile.
Because he understood her perfectly.
"If she's from the Divine Water Palace, it makes sense."
Her harshness wasn't born of arrogance or temper.
The people of the Divine Water Palace despised mercenaries with a passion.
Because twenty years ago, the Wandering Sword O Ja-myeong, who led a mercenary band and took independent contracts, had stolen a treasure from the Divine Water Palace.
No one knew who had commissioned the theft or where the treasure had ended up.
After stealing it, O Ja-myeong vanished without a trace, and the treasure's whereabouts remained a mystery.
Rumors spread—some said he had died from fatal wounds sustained during the theft, while others claimed he had secretly left the martial world after profiting from the treasure.
But since he never reappeared, the truth remained unknown.
Regardless, because of this, every member of the Divine Water Palace seethed at the mere mention of mercenaries.
Thud. Thud.
Bu Eun-seol walked slowly, carefully observing the traces around him.
Though the mist had cleared, an unsettling energy still lingered in the air, and a palpable killing intent seemed to tighten around his throat.
'Strange.'
Most peculiar was the foul stench that had clung to the forest since his arrival.
He had assumed it came from the spell covering Nine-Bend Mountain.
But even after the spell was broken, the stench still rose from all directions—why?
"Hm."
The moment he sensed something and stepped forward—
Crrrk. Crrrk.
The earth around him trembled as if alive, splitting apart in jagged fissures.
Groooan.
From the cracked underground, an eerie noise reverberated, followed by a seeping crimson glow.
Groooowl—Groooan—Groooowl—
The monstrous sound grew louder, until soon, wasn't it shaking the entire forest?