Chapter 625
"There's no need to be so surprised."
She spoke with a faint smile.
"We're in the process of making them, not that we've succeeded yet."
"..."
"The Black Divine Artifacts have existed since the dawn of time. They were never something humans could have created in the first place."
Her expression remained indifferent as she spoke.
"We're researching how to recreate them. But so far, we haven't succeeded."
Bu Eun-seol couldn't understand.
Why was she so freely divulging these secrets to him?
"Why are you telling me all this?"
"Are your questions finished?"
Her tone suggested that if he said yes, she would instead bombard him with questions.
Bu Eun-seol immediately pressed on.
"Who are you? What is your position here?"
"My name is Bi-yeon. I research the Black Divine Artifacts here..."
She continued calmly.
"And I'm working to bring this place down."
Bu Eun-seol's expression grew complicated.
To summarize, this woman named Bi-yeon was researching the Black Divine Artifacts here—
while simultaneously harboring the intent to destroy the Ancient Sword Forest.
"Why do you want to destroy it?"
"Because it must be destroyed."
The woman, Bi-yeon, spoke with eerie composure.
"You seem to know a lot about the Black Divine Artifacts. Do you really want more of those terrifying weapons to exist?"
In that moment, a thought struck Bu Eun-seol.
"So the Ancient Sword Forest isn't the only one."
"Hmm. You really are sharp."
Bi-yeon gazed out the window at the forest beyond.
"There are Ancient Sword Forests scattered throughout the Central Plains. Each one is independently researching the Black Divine Artifacts."
"Who is the Forest Lord of the Ancient Sword Forest? Why are they trying to create the Black Divine Artifacts?"
"Who knows."
She shrugged dismissively.
"Each one has its own reasons."
Just as Bu Eun-seol was about to speak further, his eyes abruptly caught sight of the dense scars lining the nape of Bi-yeon's neck.
"Were you... forcibly brought here?"
"You think I'm trying to take revenge because I was dragged here against my will?"
"No?"
"Yeah, no."
Bi-yeon's voice was steady.
"I told you. This place simply needs to be destroyed."
"Why?"
"That's my goal."
Her eyes held a trace of loneliness.
"So, you helped me because...?"
"Yeah. I thought you came here to tear this place down."
"I truly didn't even know where this place was. Even if I were to destroy it, I wouldn't want innocent people getting hurt."
She leaned forward abruptly, bringing her face dangerously close to Bu Eun-seol's—or rather, to the disguised face of Seok Chi-haeng.
"Innocent people?"
Her glittering eyes were so near they almost touched his.
"There's no such thing among the blood-soaked denizens of the murim."
"..."
"Murim people spend their lives fighting, sometimes taking lives."
Bi-yeon's voice was colder than winter wind.
"Once you learn martial arts—the art of wielding weapons to harm others—there's no such thing as a person without sin or flaw."
Unconsciously, Bu Eun-seol nodded.
"I mostly agree with that. But—"
Thud. Thud.
Just then, heavy footsteps echoed from outside.
Bi-yeon's eyes flashed, and she suddenly snatched up a mask leaning against the wall.
"Put this on."
Her whisper was urgent as she thrust a perfectly spherical iron mask at him.
"And don't say a word."
Creak—
The door opened.
Without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol swiftly pulled the mask over his head.
Instantly, the pungent stench of blood assaulted his nostrils, and his neck prickled with discomfort.
"What's going on here?"
The man who stepped inside was so massive that even passing through the wide doorway seemed strenuous.
Peering through the mask's slits, Bu Eun-seol's eyes widened.
The face of the giant man—
It was so densely covered in long hair that calling it merely "shaggy" would be an understatement.
"What brings you here?"
At Bi-yeon's question, the shaggy man sniffed the air before lumbering toward Bu Eun-seol.
"I caught a scent I didn't recognize."
The man stood over seven feet tall, towering over the masked Bu Eun-seol.
"What's this? Who's he?"
"I had him brought in. We're trying something new."
"No more."
The man bared his sharp fangs as he spoke.
"What good is increasing the number of Ghost Children? In the end—"
"He's not a Ghost Child."
Bi-yeon pointed at Bu Eun-seol with confidence.
"See for yourself."
The man tilted his head, then stepped so close his face nearly pressed against the mask.
He scrutinized Bu Eun-seol's eyes through the iron slits.
"What... is this?"
His mouth fell open in shock.
"Don't tell me you've succeeded?"
"To some extent. Doesn't it seem possible now?"
"Hahaha."
The man burst into booming laughter and nodded.
"Good. Good."
The man nodded with a beaming smile before letting out a long sigh.
"It really does seem like the end is in sight."
It was strange.
Though his eyes were smiling, the shaggy-haired man's gaze looked as if he were on the verge of tears.
Joy and sorrow.
He was displaying two contradictory emotions at once.
"Then I'll be going."
"Yeah."
The shaggy-haired man stepped outside the building.
Once he was gone, Bu Eun-seol tried to remove the iron mask stuck to his head.
But it wouldn't come off.
As if fused to the nerves around his neck, attempting to force it off sent waves of pain surging through him.
"How do I take this off?"
When Bu Eun-seol asked, Bi-yeon shook her head.
"Don't remove it for a while. If you want to stay here."
"Don't remove it?"
"You're here to spy anyway, aren't you? As long as you're wearing that, no one will question you."
"Now that you mention it, I was curious."
Recalling how everyone in this forest wore iron masks shaped like various geometric patterns, Bu Eun-seol asked:
"Why is everyone here wearing these bizarre masks?"
"Identity verification, defense against the Mind-Seizing Art, and control of power."
Identity verification and defense against the Mind-Seizing Art made sense.
But what did she mean by control of power?
"What do you mean by control of power?"
"You planning to keep chatting with me? The sooner you look around, the sooner we can bring this place down."
At Bi-yeon's words, Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
"I'll spy, but bringing it down is a matter for later. I might not even have the ability to do so."
"Smart and humble."
Bi-yeon shrugged as she spoke.
"Just look around first. You'll find your answer."
"Understood."
Bu Eun-seol clasped his hands together.
"And thank you."
Aside from demanding that he destroy the Ancient Sword Forest, everything Bi-yeon said was reasonable.
More than anything, wasn't she helping him spy on this place? She was extending considerable goodwill in her own way.
"Then I'll go take a look inside."
"Sure, take your time and come back. But don't go up the tower yet."
"Why not?"
"The moment you try, everything will fall apart. Your identity will be exposed."
She smiled faintly.
"Just exploring the forest will be enough for you to make up your mind."
"Make up my mind?"
"Look around first."
Bi-yeon spoke with confidence, as if foreseeing the future.
"You'll understand then."
"Understood."
Bu Eun-seol immediately stepped outside and began scouring every corner of the Ancient Sword Forest.
In this grotesque forest, cut off from the world, only trees, rare plants, and masked figures roamed about.
'A boundary formation?'
No matter how far he walked, the scenery repeated itself.
Most of the mushroom-shaped trees and buildings resembled the place where Bi-yeon stayed, with faint smoke rising without fail.
'Are each of those places researching Black Divine Artifacts?'
As he observed the forest carefully with the mask still on, Bu Eun-seol suddenly wrinkled his nose.
A thick, metallic blood scent was drifting incessantly from somewhere.
'Strange.'
How exactly were they making Black Divine Artifacts in this forest? And why were there so many of those mushroom-shaped trees?
"..."
Bu Eun-seol scrutinized the structures fused with trees scattered throughout.
The blood scent grew thicker, and an eerie energy prickled his senses.
Gathering Internal Power at his fingertips, he peeled back the bark of one tree.
Beneath it, countless severed hands, legs, and eyeballs were densely packed together.
Moreover, whether due to some Great Art or preservation in medicinal fluids, the dismembered limbs and eyeballs had all turned pitch-black.
'All of these—'
Bu Eun-seol's gaze trembled as he scanned his surroundings.
If every single one of these mushroom-shaped trees densely packed throughout the forest was filled with the by-products of people—
Then the Ancient Sword Forest had slaughtered at least tens of thousands.
Grind.
A long streak of blood light surged from Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
—"You'll understand once you look around."
Recalling Bi-yeon's words, Bu Eun-seol immediately activated Lightness Art and returned to where she waited.
BANG.
When he slammed the door open and stormed in, Bi-yeon was staring at him as if she had been expecting this.
"That's some intense killing intent."
"Why."
Bu Eun-seol spat out each word as if chewing them.
"Why would they do something like this?"
Bi-yeon answered with an indifferent expression.
"I told you. They're making Black Divine Artifacts."
"And the materials are people?"
"Just one of the materials."
Her expression remained utterly calm.
"Black Divine Artifacts are sacred relics that grant abilities transcending human power just by being possessed. Did you think they'd be easy to make?"
The Three Realms disregarded human life, cutting down lives without hesitation to achieve their goals.
"And the Ancient Sword Forest, which belongs to the Abyssal Forces—"
"They too have been slaughtering countless people in their attempts to forge Black Divine Artifacts."
Whoosh.
Flames flickered to life in Bu Eun-seol's pupils.
In the end, there were no righteous factions in the martial world.
Neither the Demon Hall nor the Martial Alliance.
Neither the Three Realms nor the Ancient Sword Forest.
They were all killing innocent people for their own purposes.
In the end, the martial world was nothing but a hell where demons gathered.
"I told you," Bi-yeon said impassively, reading Bu Eun-seol's thoughts.
"Among martial artists, there are no innocents."
"Were you involved in their deaths?"
"Why? Did you think I wasn't?"
Ssskzt.
As Bu Eun-seol extended his fingertips, flames erupted, splitting the iron-laden workbench in two.
His internal energy, diminished by rage, surged once more as he drew upon the Great Stillness Heat River True Qi, heat intense enough to melt steel.
"I won't ask twice."
Bi-yeon stared back at him with eyes full of silence.
"Who would tell the truth under such threats?"
After taking a deep breath, she shook her head.
"No. None of us in the Forest did. Because we were all too busy researching the Black Divine Artifacts."
Then, in a low voice, she continued:
"However, the ones who preserved those bodies—that was all the work of the Neither-Human-Nor-Beasts."
"Neither-Human-Nor-Beasts."
"Yes. They severed the limbs and preserved them using a special Great Art."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed.
Neither-Human-Nor-Beasts.
That term—used to refer to the Abyssal Forces, or the Abyssal beings, said to be lurking in the shadows across the Central Plains—had just left Bi-yeon's lips?
Did that mean this Ancient Sword Forest was ultimately connected to the Azure River Realm?
'It can't be a coincidence that the terms match.'
"What exactly are the Neither-Human-Nor-Beasts? What connection does the Ancient Sword Forest have with the Azure River Realm?"
Judging by her expression, her claim of not being involved in the killings didn't seem false.
So Bu Eun-seol asked again in a composed tone—though his killing intent remained.
"Answer me properly."
Even if Bi-yeon hadn't personally kidnapped and murdered people, the fact remained that she had used human bodies as tools.
If she dared to lie, he would cut her down without hesitation.
"I don't know about the Azure River Realm. But the Infinite Realm has been clashing with our Forest for a long time."
"Why would they clash?"
"Hmm."
Instead of answering, Bu Eun-seol pressed a finger imbued with Great Stillness Heat River True Qi against Bi-yeon's forehead.
"You will tell me."
"If you want to kill me now, that's fine too."
Even as she faced the searing heat capable of melting flesh, she smiled tenderly.
"After all, You're going to bring down the Ancient Sword Forest anyway. Right?"
Bu Eun-seol's strength wavered.
Bi-yeon had already transcended death.
No threat would work on her now.
'Better to coax her into revealing whatever information she has.'
Changing tactics, he asked calmly:
"Then what of the Neither-Human-Nor-Beasts? What are they?"
"They're martial artists too. Just like you."
A strange answer.
And by saying "you," she implied that she wasn't one of them.
"The only difference is whether they stride openly through the world—or hide in the deepest shadows, never revealing themselves."
"Hiding in the deepest shadows..."
Originally, Bu Eun-seol had assumed the term Neither-Human-Nor-Beasts referred to the Abyssal Forces—figures or factions that had remained hidden for generations.
But the Ancient Sword Forest, too, had been a faction concealed from the martial world.
Which meant Neither-Human-Nor-Beasts wasn't a blanket term for all hidden forces.
It referred to a specific faction—or individuals.
'If even the people of the Ancient Sword Forest, who forge Black Divine Artifacts, don't know their true identities...'
For a moment, Bu Eun-seol felt both absurdity and a terrifying realization.
The Three Realms had always claimed they were protecting the martial world.
He had often wondered—from what?
If his speculation was correct...
Then the Three Realms, whom he had always believed were the ones sowing chaos and committing atrocities—
Might they actually have been protecting the martial world from the Neither-Human-Nor-Beasts among the Abyssal Forces?
—They are hiding all across the Central Plains. Soon... they will reveal themselves.
Recalling A-yeon's words, Bu Eun-seol's expression turned hollow.
If all these assumptions were true—
Then not all Abyssal Forces were evil.
Instead, there existed a separate, truly cruel and vile faction among them.
'I am not the Supreme Martial Lord.'
Whether it was the Abyss or the Three Realms—
Bu Eun-seol's only concern was avenging his grandfather and parents.
It didn't matter to him which factions tore the martial world apart.
'But.'
He bit his lip.
The problem was that both sides were trampling over innocent civilians.
Even if he died trying, he couldn't stand by and let that continue.
'This is sickening.'
Haaaahhh...
Black energy oozed relentlessly from his body.
'It seems the Martial World had no reason to exist from the beginning.'
Bu Eun-seol's eyes darkened endlessly.
If all martial artists... If every faction in the Martial World was like this...
Wouldn't it be better to wipe them all clean?
Crackle.
As inexplicable rage surged up, the sound of bones shifting emanated from his entire body, and his pupils began drowning in black darkness.
'Whether it's the Ancient Sword Forest or the Three Realms... the Demon Hall or the Martial Alliance... all of them...'
And that darkness began spreading uncontrollably, as if trying to swallow the whole world.
But then—
Flash!
Something scorching erupted from the Brain Gate Acupoint at the base of his skull, and an unknown energy began circulating through his body.
Instantly, his mind cleared as if doused in ice water, while warmth spread through his limbs instead.
It felt like when someone pours cold water over you while you're gasping from severe heatstroke.
Whoosh.
Simultaneously, the spreading black energy vanished entirely, and Bu Eun-seol's gaze returned to normal.
The energy that surged from the Brain Gate Acupoint was something injected into him by Seo Jang-seung in his childhood...
But it would take time before he realized that.
"What are you doing?"
Bu Eun-seol was wearing an iron mask.
The black energy spreading outward was invisible and intangible to others.
So to Bi-yeon's eyes, it simply looked like Bu Eun-seol had flinched abruptly in front of her.
'Whether it's the Three Realms or Neither-Human-Nor-Beast... that's a matter for later.'
Having regained his composure, Bu Eun-seol spoke coldly.
"Just because you didn't participate in killing civilians doesn't mean your sins disappear."
"Of course not."
Bi-yeon smiled serenely.
"Did you really think I was asking you to destroy the Ancient Sword Forest while excluding myself?"
Then she thrust out her chest and declared:
"If you want to kill me, do it now. I don't care."
An old person who had tasted both bitterness and sweetness in life might have no attachment to living.
But for Bi-yeon, who couldn't be older than twenty, to show such indifference toward death wasn't something easily achieved.
"But if you do that, destroying the Ancient Sword Forest will become difficult. Think carefully."
'Did she consume the Youthful-Complexion Fruit?'
Bu Eun-seol found it strange.
Bi-yeon's appearance was youthful, but...
Her demeanor and attitude were like an old person who could calmly accept her own death at any moment.
"But why did you end up making Black Divine Artifacts here?"
Bu Eun-seol asked.
"Was there some circumstance that led you to join a place like the Ancient Sword Forest?"
"Why? Do you think I have some unspeakable past? Are you trying to spare me but struggling to find a reason?"
"I'm not a judge."
As if struck in a sore spot, Bu Eun-seol avoided her gaze.
"But isn't it possible that life has forced you into situations you can't speak of?"
"Does it matter what my circumstances are?"
Bi-yeon replied impassively.
"I'm part of a cruel organization that abducts people."
Bu Eun-seol sighed.
Bi-yeon wasn't someone who could be judged by simple notions of good and evil.
Moreover, she had been longing for death all along—there must be a complicated story behind it.
"If that's how you see it, I have nothing more to say."
Bu Eun-seol steadied himself and spoke.
"Since I've infiltrated this place, I intend to capture those here and extract information about the Ancient Sword Forest..."
But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to say he would slaughter everyone here.
Even though the Ancient Sword Forest had committed atrocities for so long...
Seeing Bi-yeon made him feel there was something more to it.
"You're soft-hearted."
Bi-yeon smiled with a tenderness like an elder looking at a foolish grandchild.
"But the Rivers and Lakes isn't a place where right and wrong matter. Only the ruthless survive."
In the past—no, even moments ago when he was consumed by rage—he would have believed those words to be absolute truth.
But whether it was due to the pure energy that surged from his Brain Gate Acupoint or the bonds he had formed with others in the martial world...
Now, he couldn't fully agree.
"I'll decide that for myself."
Bu Eun-seol swiftly changed the subject.
"But since they've abducted people and committed such atrocities, the Ancient Sword Forest must be destroyed."
"I agree."
"Then where is the Forest Lord?"
"You'll find him at the top of that distant tower. But not now."
"Why not?"
Bi-yeon answered flatly.
"Because at your current level, you'll never reach the summit."
"Are there traps?"
"Yes. And no matter how formidable your martial arts are, you can't break through them."
"Don't worry. I'll handle that myself."
"Don't even think about bringing in outside forces."
Bi-yeon stated firmly.
"I don't know how you got in alone, but that's the only reason you weren't detected."
"If I had brought others, we would have been discovered immediately?"
"Yes. And slaughtered."
Bi-yeon said it matter-of-factly.
"How many masters like you even exist in the Martial World?"
In short, unless you were at Bu Eun-seol's level—the Supreme Origin Realm—they would be annihilated.
"Then how do you propose we destroy the Ancient Sword Forest?"
"Stay with me day and night starting today."
Bi-yeon's eyes gleamed like red jewels.
"Three months and ten days—one hundred days. That's all we need."
"Why?"
"The Great Yin-Yang Art."
Her crimson eyes narrowed playfully.
"I'll transfer my power to you through it."