Chapter 465
Rustle, rustle.
A sudden wave of killing intent swept through the air, plunging the surroundings into darkness as if the very light had been snuffed out. The earth around the forest began to tremble.
In that instant, Bu Eun-seol's extrasensory perception rang with a subtle alarm.
Crrrrk.
Simultaneously, from the cracked earth, black shadows began to rise one by one, emerging as if sprouting from the ground.
They were Soulless Ones, their eyes dyed crimson.
'So that's how it was.'
Only then did Bu Eun-seol realize why, even after the spell woven through the forest had been broken, that bizarre stench had continued to spread unchecked.
As it turned out, the Soulless Ones had been buried underground throughout the forest, lying dormant.
Unlike ordinary humans, Soulless Ones exhibited no biological reactions whatsoever.
By remaining motionless in their slumber, they could completely conceal their presence—almost as if they had employed the Turtle Breath Grand Art.
BOOM!
At that moment, a deafening explosion echoed in the distance, accompanied by a flash of transparent light.
The old woman from the Divine Beast Palace, who had gone ahead, had begun to engage the Soulless Ones emerging from the forest.
—KAAH!
The Soulless Ones of Nine-Bend Mountain were slightly different from those Bu Eun-seol had seen before.
Not only were their eyes crimson, but their skin also bore a reddish hue, and their hands ended in grotesquely elongated, claws split in two.
Their movements were unpredictably swift, as agile and feral as wild beasts.
But the old woman's martial arts were of a caliber that outright denied the Soulless Ones any chance of approaching her.
Not only was her body enveloped in tangible, spherical droplets of water-based energy, but—
Thunk! Thunk!
—she was also firing the water droplets stored in the glass bottle at her waist like cannon shots.
At times, she unleashed them in the form of swirling torrents, effortlessly knocking down the Soulless Ones.
'She doesn't possess the Water Spirit Constitution like the Divine Beast Palace Lord, then.'
Among the Four Gods and Seven Kings, the Water God, Neung-gyeong, was said to wield martial arts using only the moisture in the air, without relying on external water sources.
The old woman's martial arts were exceptional, but she evidently wasn't born with the Water Spirit Constitution—she continued to draw water from her glass bottle without pause.
'Yet, for her, it's as if there are no restrictions at all.'
Water was something easily found anywhere.
In other words, even if the disciples of the Divine Beast Palace lacked the Water Spirit Constitution, they could wield water-based techniques as freely as if they did.
And it was precisely this advantage that had earned them the reputation of possessing the greatest combat strength among the Seven Great Female Palaces.
SWOOSH!
Having swiftly eradicated all the Soulless Ones in her vicinity, the old woman turned to Bu Eun-seol, who had caught up, and smirked coldly.
"There's nothing left for you to take."
The heads of the fallen Soulless Ones scattered around had all vanished.
She had likely used her water-based techniques to deliberately blast away only the heads, ensuring Bu Eun-seol couldn't sever and collect them.
'She must be pushing ninety, yet she acts as petty as a child.'
Suppressing a scoff, Bu Eun-seol bent down and began meticulously examining the Soulless Ones' remains.
The Four Gods rarely revealed themselves in the murim, and opportunities to witness their martial techniques were exceedingly rare.
He intended to take this chance to study the distinctive traits of the Divine Beast Palace's martial arts.
"Hmph."
Misinterpreting Bu Eun-seol's scrutiny as an attempt to find an intact neck to claim, the old woman smirked coldly before departing.
'So this is the Water God's technique.'
Unfazed, Bu Eun-seol carefully studied the scars left on the Soulless Ones' corpses.
He had assumed it was merely a technique of flicking water to kill enemies.
But the Water God's technique had completely altered the nature of the water droplets.
The traces suggested not light droplets but something akin to Heavy Water being launched.
Moreover, the shapes left behind weren't mere droplets but varied, intricate forms.
'Not only can she make ordinary water as heavy as Heavy Water, but she can also shape it into diverse forms...'
Bu Eun-seol couldn't help but marvel.
The Four Gods had long flaunted their overwhelming power in the murim, wielding unique abilities that transcended ordinary martial arts.
Like the martial arts of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars, these techniques surpassed the conventional boundaries of martial prowess.
'The murim is vast indeed.'
The murim was vast, and the Eccentric Masters were many.
Some sought fame and glory, while others concealed their abilities, living in seclusion and silence.
There were those with immense reputations who, in reality, amounted to little...
And those who had never made a name for themselves yet possessed extraordinary skill.
'The Divine Beast Palace's martial arts are far more formidable than the murim knows.'
Bu Eun-seol was the type to trust only what he saw with his own eyes, not rumors.
And after examining the traces of the old woman's techniques, he realized that the Divine Beast Palace's martial arts were far more vicious and powerful than the murim believed.
Crrrrk.
Despite the old woman having disposed of a considerable number of Soulless Ones, more continued to claw their way out of the earth, emerging relentlessly.
"Quite a number," Bu Eun-seol remarked lightly as he observed the rising figures, then casually threw a single punch.
Whoomph!
A low vibration resonated as the soulless one collapsed heavily.
Yet in the next moment, it jerked back up and resumed moving as if nothing had happened.
Though he had barely infused any Internal Power into the strike, it was still strong enough to shatter rock in a single blow.
Even if they were soulless, they still had bodies of flesh and blood. How could they maintain such an unyielding physique?
"Kyaaah!"
Before he knew it, the soulless ones had surrounded the forest like a tightening noose, shrieking as they lunged at Bu Eun-seol.
'Hm.'
This time, Bu Eun-seol channeled his Three Stars Internal Energy and unleashed a rapid succession of fist strikes.
Boom! Boom!
With explosive sounds, the soulless ones were sent flying in all directions, reduced to crimson masses.
—Kyaa! Keee!
Yet even three hundred feet ahead, the shrieks of the soulless ones continued endlessly.
Judging by the spreading clamor, the number of soulless ones the old woman was dealing with far exceeded those here.
'This could be dangerous.'
Zzzing!
In that instant, dozens of strands of True Qi erupted from Bu Eun-seol's body like spiderwebs.
Crunch!
Simultaneously, the necks of the charging soulless ones were severed in a flash, their bodies collapsing to the ground.
In one swift motion, he had deployed the Willful True Binding and eradicated them all.
Tap.
Activating his Movement Technique, Bu Eun-seol dashed forward, ascending the mountain for some time.
Finally, he arrived at the Great Sprout Ridge, where the Mount Mao Sect once stood, and saw the old woman surrounded by soulless ones in a wide clearing.
Their numbers were roughly a hundred.
Though encircled by enough troops to blanket the small clearing, the old woman remained unshaken.
Thud! Splaaash!
With every burst of water droplets infused with qi, the soulless ones flew apart like torn lotus petals.
But there were simply too many.
Even after a while, the number of soulless ones surrounding the forest showed no sign of decreasing.
Because these soulless ones had bodies as hard as steel.
No matter how powerful the qi-infused water droplets were, they couldn't instantly sever life—so the old woman was gradually being pushed into a defensive position.
'No choice, then.'
As Bu Eun-seol drew his sword to assist the besieged old woman—
"I don't need your help!"
The old woman noticed his approach and snorted coldly.
Then, raising her hand—
Whoooosh!
The water inside her glass bottle spiraled violently upward, transforming into a deep, sea-like blue.
Rooooar!
The swirling water took on a spherical form before radiating outward in all directions.
Splaaash!
The transparent streams of water she unleashed spun endlessly, interwoven with streaks of blue—
Creating the spectacle of a blue dragon tearing through the void, ripping apart the soulless ones as if devouring them whole.
Crunch. Crunch.
The last of the charging soulless ones collapsed headless onto the ground.
Alone, the old woman had felled over a hundred steel-like soulless ones.
'The martial arts of the Divine Beast Palace are diverse indeed.'
Bu Eun-seol marveled at the technique she had employed.
Water has no fixed form.
The martial arts of the Divine Beast Palace allowed its practitioners to unleash qi-infused water in countless variations.
Meaning, no matter what enemy appeared, they could adapt their techniques accordingly—it was like wielding a weapon capable of infinite transformations.
"Are you out of your mind?"
The old woman glared at Bu Eun-seol with an irritated expression.
"If you were lucky enough to escape with your life, you should've gone back. Why do you keep following This Lady?"
"Your martial arts are extraordinary."
"Hm?"
Bu Eun-seol's voice carried genuine admiration.
"Thanks to you, I've had an eye-opening experience."
At his praise, the old woman, who had been scowling, twitched slightly.
"Well, all of our sect's martial arts are like that."
Though she spoke dismissively, her eyes gleamed with unmistakable pride.
'A childlike personality.'
Despite her age—likely in her nineties—her attitude and gaze held an almost innocent purity, which oddly endeared her to Bu Eun-seol.
"And I'm not following you. I'm simply doing what I came here to do."
He calmly weathered her cantankerous demeanor as he spoke.
"Did you come here to eliminate the soulless ones?"
"That's right."
With a somewhat boastful expression, she glanced around at the surroundings.
"When word spread that soulless ones were appearing in Nine-Bend Mountain, commoners—and even martial artists like you, chasing petty coin—were dying horribly. So This Lady came to wipe them out herself."
"I see. But why come alone?"
Whether judging by her martial arts or her age, she was undoubtedly a figure of considerable standing within the Divine Beast Palace.
So why had she climbed this desolate Nine-Bend Mountain alone to deal with the soulless ones?
"Well, you could say I came to gain more experience in the Rivers and Lakes."
For a moment, Bu Eun-seol furrowed his brows.
Given her age, she must have already accumulated enough experience in the martial world to reek of it—so much so that it should have long since lost its novelty.
Was she really saying that even at her age, she still felt lacking and sought more experience?
"No, that's not it..."
Perhaps sensing she had misspoken, the old woman hesitated briefly before continuing calmly,
"It's because I've been in closed-door training for so long that I haven't had a chance to breathe the outside air."
"I see."
"Now that it's all over, I suppose I should head back."
"Then, take care on your way."
The old woman's appearance was grotesque, and her temperament and speech were unfathomably eccentric.
But since Bu Eun-seol had maintained his courtesy from beginning to end, she now wore an expression that suggested a flicker of interest.
"Why aren't you leaving? Don't tell me it's because those Soulless Ones lack heads?"
Bu Eun-seol closed his eyes slightly and shook his head.
"That's not it. It's just—"
At that moment, a flash of light sparked in his pupils as he took a step forward.
He had detected a subtle mechanism transmitting from the soles of his feet.
'Another one of these, huh?'
Taking a deep breath, Bu Eun-seol immediately activated the Thousand-Catty Drop.
Kwoong.
The ground beneath his feet sank flatly in a square shape, and with a series of metallic clanks—
Clank, clank.
—the floor descended, while on the opposite side, a massive iron gate rose from the earth.
Someone had secretly installed hidden mechanisms all around the vicinity of Great Mother Ridge.
Kwooong.
Finally, as the iron gate opened, a long passageway yawned before them like a gaping maw of darkness.
"That is..."
The old woman, who had been watching, gaped.
Who would have thought such an astonishing mechanical construct lay hidden in this desolate Great Mother Ridge?
Meanwhile, Bu Eun-seol's gaze deepened as he stared into the dark passage.
'It's similar.'
The secret passage before him bore a striking resemblance in structure to the Sichuan Underground City he had once investigated with Yu Hwa-ryeong.
Which meant this place, too, was likely a testing ground created by the Three Realms.
'If so, then the one who wielded that Great Blade must also be a figure from the Three Realms.'
A chill ran down his spine.
If that were true, then the Three Realms already knew of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms—and were researching the martial arts of the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade.
Zzzing.
Bu Eun-seol immediately expanded his Empty Mind Spirit Perception.
Examining the passage, he could clearly see traces of people having come and gone.
Meaning there was a high probability that the wielder of that Great Blade was still here.
"What in the world is this?"
The old woman spoke up.
"Could this be the place where they create the Soulless Ones?"
"Most likely."
"Hmm."
"Elder, you should turn back."
Bu Eun-seol's expression turned grave.
"A place like this isn't something an ordinary martial artist can handle."
Without hesitation, he stepped inside.
"Brat."
The old woman's voice cut sharply from behind as she followed him in.
"You, who've been watching from the sidelines all this time, dare lecture me about what I can handle?"
"If you want to enter, bring disciples from the Divine Beast Palace."
"Just because you sniffed out one mechanism like a mole, do you think you have the right to lecture me?"
"Elder."
"You should be the one turning back."
A surging blue energy flickered in the old woman's eyes.
"Poking around recklessly like this could get you killed."
Then, brushing past Bu Eun-seol, she strode boldly into the passage.
"Hmph."
Bu Eun-seol shook his head as if resigned.
Then, following the open passage, he slowly stepped inside.
The interior was damp, and a foul stench—similar to the one that had permeated the forests of Nine-Bend Mountain—rose from within.
As the old woman walked ahead, she inhaled the odor and suddenly spoke as if recalling something.
"So the remnants of the Hell Blood Citadel are here after all."
Though Bu Eun-seol had raided Great Cloud Forest, most martial artists mistakenly believed the Hell Blood Citadel was the one behind the Soulless Ones.
The Hell Blood Citadel had merely supplied various Extreme Poisons, but since most martial artists had no way of knowing that the Three Realms were the true masterminds behind Great Cloud Forest,
They assumed the Hell Blood Citadel was the one pulling the strings.
'Self-inflicted.'
Without a word, Bu Eun-seol scanned the passage as he advanced.
Finally, as they reached the end, a thick iron gate came into view.
The old woman made no move to open it, instead staring pointedly at Bu Eun-seol.
'She wants me to open it.'
Without hesitation, he pushed the gate open.
With a heavy groan, the door swung wide—revealing an unexpected sight.
"Another passage?"
Even the old woman wore a baffled expression.
Beyond the iron gate stretched a vast, dark tunnel resembling a mine shaft, extending endlessly into the distance.
However, its width and height were substantial—enough for a hundred people to walk comfortably without needing to form ranks.
After walking for some time, yet another iron gate appeared in the distance.
Without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol strode forward and carefully examined the iron gate.
Unlike the previous gates, this one was extraordinarily heavy and thick, as though designed to imprison something ferocious.
'How bizarre.'
His gaze deepened as he surveyed the surroundings.
Throughout the mine shaft, multicolored night-luminescent pearls were embedded at intervals, casting light across the area.
No matter how wealthy the Three Realms were, there was no reason to embed such expensive pearls in this shabby place.
That could only mean this passage had a special restriction—likely one that prohibited the use of ordinary lanterns.
"Old woman," Bu Eun-seol said calmly.
"If we go any further, there will be no turning back."
"You're more talkative than I expected."
The old woman clicked her tongue in irritation and reached out to open the gate herself.
Clank.
But the moment she stepped closer, a faint metallic sound echoed through the air.
'A mechanism?'
Bu Eun-seol extended a hand in warning.
"Be careful. There seems to be a trap ahead."
"If I were afraid of mere traps, I wouldn't have come in the first place."
Just as the old woman dismissively pushed the gate open and attempted to step inside—
Clatter!
Suddenly, glowing orbs descended from the ceiling.
At the same time, an overwhelming pressure bore down as if to crush them whole—it was the Repelling Field Stone, the same kind that had been installed in the Martial Emperor's Secret Vault.
"Hmph."
Unfazed by the crushing force, the old woman channeled her Internal Power.
A circular blue light shimmered around her, diverting the pressure like water sliding off a slanted surface.
She had manipulated the Water God's Divine Art to curve the walls, redirecting the force at an angle.
'A convenient method.'
Bu Eun-seol inwardly marveled.
The Water God's Divine Art could not only alter the form of water but even harden its very essence.
Even the mighty Bullet King had struggled against the Repelling Field Stone's power, yet she was effortlessly deflecting it.
"Crude craftsmanship."
Just as the old woman took another step forward—
Skitter-skitter.
A grotesque sound echoed as shadows began staining the floor black from the opposite side.
A new breed of Soulless Ones had appeared.
"What in the world—?"
The old woman's composure shattered.
These Soulless Ones crawled on the ground, their bodies coated in a yellow, mucus-like substance, their limbs unnaturally elongated.
From a distance, they looked like spiders with human heads scuttling toward them.
"Ugh..."
The old woman let out a strangled noise.
Though her own appearance was hardly ordinary, she recoiled in horror at the sight of the grotesque Soulless Ones.
"I hate spiders!"
Half out of her mind, she shrieked and unleashed a torrent of the Water God's Divine Art.
Splash—!
But with her Mental Power scattered and her focus broken, the technique failed to manifest its full might.
—Screech!
Even after being struck, the Soulless Ones didn't fall. Instead, they let out guttural cries, their yellow-ooze-covered bodies—
Skitter-skitter.
—began scaling the walls with their elongated limbs, crawling toward them in unnatural movements.
"Aaaah!"
When the yellow ooze splattered onto her, the old woman lost all reason and wildly flung the Water God's Divine Art in panic.
Under the influence of the Repelling Field Stone, her movements slowed further, and the crawling Soulless Ones closed in before she could react.
Thwip!
Seizing the opportunity, one of the Soulless Ones lunged through the gap, leaping straight for her face.
Swish!
Just as its razor-sharp claws were about to graze her throat—
Shiiing!
A clear Sword Resonance reverberated through the shaft.
Shwaaak—!
Simultaneously, sword qi erupted like a fan of blades, shattering the Repelling Field Stone embedded in the ceiling—
Slash-slash-slash-slash!
—followed by countless Sword Strokes, flashing like lightning, reducing the crawling Soulless Ones to chunks of flesh.
Thud. Gurgle—!
It happened in the blink of an eye.
The Repelling Field Stone crumbled into dust, raining onto the ground.
Dozens of Soulless Ones collapsed mid-charge, reduced to bloody pulp with a single dying shriek.
Click.
Bu Eun-seol sheathed the Ice Soul Sword.
The old woman stood frozen, her expression blank.
Not one of awe—but one of sheer horror.
Because when Bu Eun-seol had unleashed his lightning-fast swordplay to eliminate the Soulless Ones... their yellow ooze had splattered all over her.
"AAAAH!"
Screaming, the old woman leapt back and frantically poured the entire contents of her glass bottle over herself.
Splash.
The water inside was her only weapon in this underground shaft.
"Get a hold of yourself!"
Bu Eun-seol snatched the bottle away, shouting. Only then did the old woman stop, her eyes bulging.
But it was too late—she had already emptied it completely.
"Why are you so distraught?"
The old woman shook her head, her face devoid of spirit.
"This Lady... hates spiders."
Then, after shuddering violently for a long moment, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed backward.
Bu Eun-seol couldn't help but stare in disbelief.
This behavior was something he'd expect from a petulant ten-year-old girl—not a seasoned elder.
