Chapter 466
Thud.
The unconscious old woman slammed her head straight into the ground.
"Ack!"
The impact jolted her back to her senses, and her eyes flew wide open.
The sight of her fainting, collapsing, then smacking her head and popping back up like a weighted doll was so absurdly comical that it was hard not to laugh.
"That wasn't a spider—it was a Soulless One."
"It was crawling like a spider."
"Then how did you take down the Soulless Ones earlier? They all had grotesque appearances."
"They walked on two legs."
The old woman shuddered and shook her head.
"This Lady despises bugs. Especially the crawling kind."
"Hmm."
Bu Eun-seol stared at the empty glass bottle for a moment before pointing down the passageway.
"We should turn back now. More Soulless Ones might appear."
"Fine."
Surprisingly, the old woman nodded without protest.
Then, after scanning their surroundings, she raised her thumb.
"Now that I think about it, your martial arts are quite impressive."
She seemed to recall how Bu Eun-seol had effortlessly shattered the stone slabs and taken down the Soulless Ones scattered around them.
"You don't seem like an ordinary rogue. I can't fathom what you're really after."
Muttering under her breath, she turned and walked toward the opposite side, attempting to open the iron gate.
Clank.
But the gate was designed to open only from the inside—there was no way out from this side.
"Damn nuisance."
The old woman summoned her Internal Power once more.
The droplets clinging to her hair and clothes began rising into the air.
Since the bottle was empty, she intended to use the moisture on her body to break through the gate.
"Wait a moment."
Just then, Bu Eun-seol sensed something amiss and approached the gate.
"What is it?"
"I heard something strange."
Closing his eyes briefly, he detected the faint sound of machinery near the gate and shook his head.
"This won't do. Forcing this gate open will trigger another mechanism."
Having experienced countless Mechanism Formations scattered throughout the Murim in the Martial Emperor Secret Vault, Bu Eun-seol was well-versed in such traps.
Combined with the heightened senses of the Way of the Beast... his skill in detecting mechanisms far surpassed even the most renowned experts in the field.
"Mechanisms don't frighten me. As long as those bug-like Soulless Ones aren't around, I'll manage."
With a dismissive expression, the old woman stretched out her hand.
Dozens of water droplets aligned in midair before—
BAM BAM BAM BAM—CRASH!
They began hammering the gate in rapid succession.
The Heavy Water droplets, dense as lead, relentlessly battered the iron until—
RUMBLE!
The thick gate finally split open, collapsing to either side.
"I'm leaving."
The moment the old woman stepped through the gate—
CLANK.
A massive metallic grinding echoed from somewhere, followed by—
OOOOOOM.
A bizarre resonance reverberated through the mine shaft.
"What in the—?"
As the old woman glanced around, her eyes widened at the sight of a dark, creeping mist in the distance.
But it wasn't mist.
It was an enormous swarm of flies—hurtling straight toward them.
"Demon-Head Blood Flies?!"
Bu Eun-seol's eyes sharpened.
These were the bloodsucking flies found in the jungles of the Southern Barbarian Region—Demon-Head Blood Flies.
And these were no ordinary specimens. Fed on who-knows-what, they had grown to the size of a child's fist.
If that swarm engulfed them, they'd be drained dry in moments, reduced to desiccated husks.
"H-How—?"
As the old woman trembled, frozen in panic—
SWISH SWISH SWISH!
A blinding white flash sliced through the air, cutting down the descending swarm.
Bu Eun-seol had stepped in front of her, unleashing his sword techniques.
"Ugh..."
She recoiled in horror as a mound of severed fly carcasses piled at his feet.
But no matter how many he cut down, the swarm showed no sign of thinning.
"Hmm."
Bu Eun-seol's brow furrowed.
Maintaining such an expansive Sword Curtain drained both his Internal Power and stamina at an alarming rate.
Of course, given his reserves, he could hold out for a long time—but the real problem was the uncertainty of what else lay ahead.
In short, they needed to eliminate this threat as quickly as possible.
"Elder! Use that martial art you employed earlier to wipe out the Soulless Ones in one strike!"
Bu Eun-seol shouted while continuously swinging his sword.
The old woman had previously unleashed a tidal wave of Palm Energy using the water from her bottle, annihilating about a hundred Soulless Ones.
If she could replicate that technique, she could eradicate this swarm in an instant.
"T-The bottle... it's empty now."
"You may not have water, but there's something else."
Bu Eun-seol pointed at the viscous mucus and blood oozing from the fallen Soulless Ones.
"That could serve as a substitute."
"W-What?!"
Her eyes trembled as she stared at the yellow mucus dripping from their mouths and the blood pooling from their necks.
"No."
When she shook her head, Bu Eun-seol replied coldly.
"Would you rather have those flies suck you dry?"
"Ugh..."
With no choice, she forced herself to summon her Internal Power.
WHOOSH!
The scattered yellow mucus and clumps of blood began lifting into the air, swirling above her head.
"Ugh..."
An indescribably foul stench seeped from the mixture.
Gritting her teeth, she forcibly activated the Divine Water Palace's Ultimate Art—
Turning Heaven and Evening Sun.
Slowly, the blood and mucus began spinning like a whirlwind.
Whoosh—
But as soon as she did, the stench emanating from the mucus and blood surged straight into the old woman's nostrils.
"Ugh—!"
Unable to endure the revolting odor, she gagged, and the activation of Turning Heaven and Evening Sun was abruptly cut off.
Splash!
With the technique interrupted, the globs of mucus and blood hovering above her head... came crashing down directly onto her.
"KYAAAH!"
In that instant, the old woman shook her head like a madwoman, hopping around and shrieking.
But that scream wasn't the low, grating voice of an elderly woman—it was the clear, melodious cry of a young girl.
"AAAAH!"
Panicked, the old woman bolted toward the opposite iron gate, rattling it violently.
"No! NO!"
But no matter how hard she pulled, the gate wouldn't budge. Frustrated, she stomped her feet in place.
Clank.
Then, suddenly, a mechanical sound echoed—
"GYAAAAH!"
With a single piercing scream, the old woman vanished.
As it turned out, the iron gate wasn't meant to be opened by force—it was a safety measure, requiring a specific method to unlock.
And beneath it lay a trap designed to eliminate intruders.
The moment the old woman had jumped and shaken the gate, the trap triggered, sending her plummeting downward.
"So she wasn't an old woman after all."
Bu Eun-seol sighed after hearing that clear, youthful scream.
He stared into the pit where she had fallen for a long moment before muttering,
"Well, no choice."
Shaking his head, he extended his left hand again.
Huum—!
Black True Qi surged from his palm, spreading outward like a colossal wall.
He had deployed the Willful True Binding, creating a massive barrier to repel the Demon-Head Blood Flies.
Tap.
With the flies pushed back, Bu Eun-seol leaped into the pit.
Whoosh—!
Falling for a while, he finally spotted the faint outline of the ground below. Just before impact, he struck his own foot downward.
Swish!
Propelled by the force, he soared upward, executed a light mid-air flip, and landed gracefully.
"Haa."
After steadying himself, Bu Eun-seol surveyed his surroundings.
A passageway, seemingly carved from a massive cavern, stretched before him. The area was pitch-black, save for a faint glow seeping from somewhere—just enough to make out shapes.
But since Bu Eun-seol could see through darkness as if it were broad daylight, it posed no issue.
"Now I see why they installed iron gates everywhere."
The gates above weren't just for deterring intruders—they also served to tightly control the various demonic beings concealed within the Mechanism Formation.
"Ugh..."
Just then, a groan came from the corner—the old woman (or rather, the woman disguised as one) lay collapsed.
She must have been too panicked to land properly when she fell into the pit.
"Are you alright?"
"Where... is this?"
"No idea. You were jumping around like a madwoman in front of the gate, and then this pit opened up."
"What? Jumping around?"
Struggling to rise, the woman snapped at Bu Eun-seol in an angry voice.
"What exactly did you just say?"
"Still trying to keep up the old woman act?"
"W-What nonsense are you spouting?"
Instead of answering, Bu Eun-seol gestured between her head and face.
In her frantic flailing, her wig had twisted sideways, and the disgusting paste on her face had half peeled off.
The sight was so absurd that even Bu Eun-seol—a man of solemn temperament—almost burst out laughing.
"Ack!"
Horrified, she hastily adjusted her wig and began patting the fallen paste back onto her face.
"You seem like a young woman. Why the disguise?"
At his question, the woman—no longer pretending to be elderly—turned her head away and replied coldly,
"None of your business."
Even though her cover was blown, she still spoke in that hoarse old woman's voice.
But unlike before, there was unmistakable fear in her tone.
"Hmm."
Bu Eun-seol studied her for a moment before remarking flatly,
"You're injured."
She was trying to act composed, but one of her legs was completely limp, and her complexion was deathly pale.
When he took a step toward her, she shouted,
"Don't come near me!"
Her shrill voice was laced with fear and wariness.
Bu Eun-seol nodded as if resigned.
"Fine."
He then turned his attention to their surroundings, walking ahead without another word.
The cavern branched into countless paths, with faint light seeping through somewhere.
Thud.
Bu Eun-seol rolled on the ground, activating Void-Breaking Mind's Eye to analyze the structure.
'At first glance, it looks like a maze with multiple forks... but in reality, these passages were dug out to install mechanisms.'
The branching paths weren't designed to create a labyrinth—they were simply hollowed out to accommodate hidden devices.
'If they had actually carved a maze, this place would've collapsed by now.'
Having grasped the layout, Bu Eun-seol moved forward calmly.
But then—
Shuffle, shuffle.
He sensed something dragging behind him.
Turning, he saw the disguised woman limping after him, struggling to keep up.
Her expression was a mix of fear—afraid she had suffered a serious injury in this dark cavern—and lingering suspicion toward him.
'Hmph.'
Understanding her unease, Bu Eun-seol deliberately ignored her.
Shing.
He drew the Ice Soul Sword and channeled his internal energy into it.
A brilliant white radiance burst forth, illuminating the surroundings.
Bu Eun-seol didn't need the light—he could see through darkness as if it were day.
But she couldn't.
But he deliberately let the sword's radiance spill forth, knowing that even this faint light might bring her some measure of calm.
Shhhh—
Yet from the branching paths of the cave, eerie sounds began to drift toward them.
Thud.
Then Bu Eun-seol, who had been walking ahead, abruptly sheathed his swordlight and halted.
The cave plunged back into darkness, and silence enveloped them.
How much time had passed?
After standing motionless for a long while, Bu Eun-seol reignited the swordlight and resumed walking at a measured pace.
The woman, still cautious, followed from a distance.
Thud.
But once again, Bu Eun-seol stopped at a fork in the path, extinguishing the light.
He remained still for a long moment before moving forward once more.
The woman trailing behind grew uneasy.
A foul stench wafted incessantly from somewhere.
And each time it did, she realized—he was deliberately pausing before continuing.
'I'd be better off taking a different path ahead of him.'
There was no telling when Bu Eun-seol's mood might shift.
Steeling herself, the woman quickened her pace despite her limp and caught up to him.
Yet another fork appeared in the distance. And again, Bu Eun-seol stopped.
Seizing the moment, the woman strode past him and said,
"I'll take the right path. Don't follow—"
Her words froze mid-sentence as her expression twisted in shock.
Before the fork, a suffocating Poison Mist had spread like a living wall.
And Bu Eun-seol was already channeling Qi Absorption Art with his left hand, gathering the mist into a dense mass before annihilating it with overwhelming Internal Power.
'This man...'
Watching him dissolve the Poison Mist with sheer Internal Energy, the woman realized—
Not only was his power beyond imagination, but he was also a Master of such caliber that the poison in the mist didn't even affect him.
Which meant... all this time, he had been stopping to eradicate the mist because he knew her wounded state couldn't withstand it.
"I'm sorry."
The woman pressed her palms together and bowed slightly.
No longer using the crone's voice, she spoke in the refined tone of a young woman.
"I knew you weren't a bad person... but I was too afraid, so I kept my guard up."
Even when she had disguised herself as a hideous old woman, Bu Eun-seol had treated her with courtesy.
And now, trapped in this dark cave—knowing she was young—he hadn't uttered a single complaint despite her wariness and irritation, silently protecting her instead.
"Will you forgive my rudeness?"
Bu Eun-seol shook his head indifferently.
"There was no rudeness to forgive."
With that single detached remark, he dismissed everything she had done.
'This man... he's different from ordinary men.'
Taking a deep breath, the woman asked,
"Aren't you curious why I disguised myself like this?"
Guilt seemed to weigh on her for deceiving him.
But Bu Eun-seol merely shook his head again.
"I'm not."
"Why not?"
"The Murim is full of eccentrics with peculiar tastes."
The woman's mouth fell open at his unexpected reply.
"What kind of answer is that? Do you think I—I dressed like this for fun?"
"Did someone force you, then?"
"No, that's not—"
As she floundered, Bu Eun-seol replied flatly,
"It's fine. I've no intention of judging another's hobbies."
"That's not what this is!"
Flustered, she waved her hands, but Bu Eun-seol only nodded and turned away.
"Ah, so it wasn't that."
An ordinary person would've asked, 'Then what's the reason?' or at least looked sympathetic.
But Bu Eun-seol's expression plainly said, 'Ah, just an unusual hobby.'—as if he'd already accepted it.
"Won't you ask what happened?"
Finally, the exasperated woman spoke first.
"No interest."
His refusal was razor-sharp.
And his gaze remained unwavering.
—A woman with peculiar tastes.
The woman bristled under his blatant stare.
"I told you, it's not a hobby!"
"Understood."
"Then why does your face look like that?"
"What face? I'm wearing a mask."
"Your eyes are saying it! 'This crazy woman has some bizarre hobby.'"
Twitch.
Seeing Bu Eun-seol's slight flinch, the woman groaned in frustration.
"Do I really look like some deranged woman to you? Really?"
Instead of answering, he averted his gaze.
As if silently enduring the rant of a lunatic.
Never in her life had she felt so wronged and infuriated.
"That's not it!"
Her eyes reddened as she shouted, unable to hold back.
"Who in their right mind would dress like a beggar for fun?!"
Suddenly, as if in a fit, she tore off her wig and peeled away the layers of grime and foul ointment.
Then—
A face so radiant it could light up the dark cave was revealed.
Delicate features, a slender nose, and mysteriously large, beautiful eyes.
Her beauty was so striking that even the remnants of dirt and yellowed grease couldn't mar it.
Unconsciously, Bu Eun-seol let out a low exhale.
"Just who are you?"
Even he—a man utterly indifferent to appearances—was stunned.
Seeing his widened eyes behind the mask, the woman smirked, her pride restored.
"My name is Gongson Dan-a. I wonder if you've heard of me."
The Three Beauties of the World...
The Flower of Eloquence. Gongson Dan-a.
She was one of the top three beauties counted on the fingers of the martial world—one of the Three Beauties Under Heaven...
Her features were so breathtakingly exquisite that she bore the epithet "Flower That Understands Speech," as if she were no mere mortal.
And such fame of hers was by no means an empty rumor.