Chapter 662
"Hah."
The grotesque figure staring at Bu Eun-seol suddenly let out a bizarre noise before—
Kwaaaaah!
—abruptly stretching out its hand, unleashing a cascade of crimson light 30 feet high toward Bu Eun-seol.
Kwaaang!
Bu Eun-seol swiftly dodged the light, and in an instant, the surrounding vegetation and earth were flattened into barren ground.
'Dangerous.'
The Eight Emperors and Three Stars—they were not merely martial masters from four hundred years ago.
They were the ones who effortlessly shattered the boundaries of martial arts that the Murim had painstakingly established.
The term also referred to the Absolute Ones who pioneered entirely new schools of martial arts.
If the being that emerged from that coffin was truly the Blood Emperor...
Even if Bu Eun-seol fought with everything he had, victory was far from certain.
Paaat!
Without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol scooped up Man-wol in his arms, intending to flee the area.
Fighting the Blood Emperor was one thing, but he couldn't risk her getting caught in the crossfire and injured.
Chwaaak!
But the grotesque figure seemed to sense his intent to escape—its ten fingers stretched outward to both sides.
In an instant, the surrounding 300 feet were densely woven with crimson Blood Lines.
Blood Wall of Rosy Clouds.
A martial art of the Heaven-Shattering Form, said to have been wielded by the Blood Emperor whenever he faced formidable foes.
Now, after four hundred years, it unfolded once more—deep within the forests of Seo-ryeong Mountain.
'Is he truly the Blood Emperor?'
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
Bu Eun-seol's heart pounded violently.
The martial prowess of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars from four centuries ago surpassed even that of the Four Gods and Seven Kings, rivaling the Three Demons and Three Venerables.
'If he really is the Blood Emperor, I must strike him down here and now.'
If not...
The Murim would once again be drowned in an endless tide of corpses, drained of blood.
'But...'
Considering the Blood Emperor's uniquely terrifying martial prowess...
Bu Eun-seol, who had yet to reach any definitive realm of mastery, stood almost no chance of victory.
"Fine."
Abandoning his plan to break through the Blood Wall of Rosy Clouds and escape, Bu Eun-seol instead activated a lightning-fast Movement Technique, darting beneath a massive tree.
Uuung!
As he unleashed a surge of intense Internal Energy, a deep pit formed beneath his feet.
He carefully placed Man-wol's unconscious body inside before felling the tree to cover the opening—creating a makeshift shelter to protect her once the battle began.
'I don't know if this will work.'
If the Blood Emperor truly unleashed his full power, everything within several thousand feet would be reduced to scorched earth.
There was no guarantee Man-wol would emerge unscathed.
Thud. Thud.
The Blood Emperor approached with the slow, deliberate strides of a predator closing in on its prey—leisurely, yet brimming with menace.
'I can't afford to stall.'
Srrring.
Drawing the Ink Soul Sword, Bu Eun-seol channeled his Internal Energy to its absolute limit.
Flash!
But before he could even initiate his attack, a blinding radiance erupted before his eyes.
A barrage of Blood Wall of Rosby Clouds descended—so fast he couldn't predict its trajectory, so sudden he couldn't even sense when it had been unleashed.
Whiik!
Bu Eun-seol kicked off the ground, launching himself into mid-air.
Kwaauuuu!
The streaks of light that passed beneath his feet transformed into a crimson tidal wave, swallowing the heavens and earth, annihilating everything in their wake.
Srrring!
Mid-leap, Bu Eun-seol unsheathed the Ink Soul Sword and—
—without pause, unleashed a relentless storm of crescent-shaped Sword Qi toward the Blood Emperor.
By fusing the Iron Sword Thirteen Forms with the variations of Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan, he unleashed dozens of razor-sharp sword energies.
"Kuhah—!"
A fierce battle cry erupted from the Blood Emperor's throat.
Simultaneously, his palms moved like lightning, weaving a fan-shaped Light Barrier.
Kwaauuuu!
The barrier radiated outward—
—engulfing not just Bu Eun-seol, but the entire battlefield within roughly a hundred and twenty feet.
Sssss...
White smoke rose from Bu Eun-seol's body where the light touched it.
Over a fistful of his blood had evaporated in an instant.
Thaak!
Yet instead of retreating, Bu Eun-seol closed the distance and launched a furious assault.
Swish!
The countless sword energies erupting from his blade abruptly sharpened—shooting forward like blades and piercing straight through the Blood Emperor's barrier in an instant.
Chwaaak!
At the same time, tendrils of black True Qi spread like spiderwebs from behind Bu Eun-seol, ensnaring the Blood Emperor's body.
He had simultaneously executed both Sword Techniques and the Willful True Binding.
Whirrrrl!
The Blood Emperor flicked his right hand lightly—
—and the razor-sharp True Qi of the Willful True Binding instantly dissipated.
Kaboom!
But Bu Eun-seol had anticipated this. Without pause, he thrust out his left fist, unleashing a blade-like Fist Wind.
He had activated the Transcendent Fist Demon Seven Forms—specifically, the Cloud Motion and Flowing Water Form, a technique he had mastered thanks to the Fist King, Seok Chi-haeng.
Kwaauuuu!
The spiraling Fist Energy tore through the Body Protection True Qi encasing the Blood Emperor's body, burrowing deep into his flesh.
Paaang!
Exposed to the violent surge of energy, the Blood Emperor's body erupted with an even deeper crimson aura—as though he had doubled his Internal Power.
The Transcendent Fist Demon Seven Forms was a technique even the Fist King would struggle to withstand head-on.
Its power shook the heavens and earth.
Kwaang!
With a deafening explosion, the Blood Emperor was sent flying back fifty feet.
Whoooosh.
As the fierce wind scattered the dust—
Kwaauuuu!
—a blinding crimson radiance surged toward Bu Eun-seol's face.
In that brief moment, the Blood Emperor had closed the distance through the dust and unleashed a palm strike saturated with Blood Emperor's Qi.
Swish—CRACK!
With no time to evade, Bu Eun-seol spun the Ink Soul Sword like a windmill in place—
—attempting to redirect the Blood Emperor's Qi using Deflect Flowers and Receive Jade.
Tsuuuuu.
But the instant the technique activated, the purely Yang-aligned Blood Emperor's Qi abruptly shifted into a Yin-softened Energy Art.
KWAOOO!
The yin-soft and gentle energy art instantly slipped free from the Deflect Flowers and Receive Jade technique and burrowed into Bu Eun-seol's body.
It was an utterly flawless counter.
TSSSSK—
Struck by the yin-infused palm energy, Bu Eun-seol was sent flying back fifty feet, his entire body wreathed in pale smoke.
Even though the five-hundred-year-level Reverse Polarity True Qi shielded his body, it couldn't stop the evaporation of his blood caused by the Blood Emperor's energy.
'The longer this drags on, the worse it gets for me.'
CLANG!
Bu Eun-seol raised his sword to mid-stance.
At the same time, an endless darkness began to bloom around him.
Even if the Blood Emperor had returned from the dead after four hundred years, there was one absolute martial art that could send him straight to hell in an instant.
He was about to unleash the Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
"KAH—!"
But then, something unexpected happened.
The moment he prepared to execute the technique—
Before he even realized it, the Blood Emperor had already circled behind him and unleashed a devastating palm strike.
'Damn it.'
Bu Eun-seol gritted his teeth.
The Bloody Tears Seven Forms was a saber technique ranked among the greatest in the long history of Murim.
It possessed a mysterious might capable of delivering absolute death to any foe.
But this martial art had one flaw—only those whose Spirit and Mind were perfectly aligned with Bu Jan-yang's could wield it.
Though Bu Eun-seol's temperament was so similar to Bu Jan-yang's that he could almost be called his clone,
his youth meant he hadn't yet reached the same profound Spirit and Mind state that Bu Jan-yang had attained in his prime.
Because of this, even if it wasn't to the level of Harmonization,
executing the Bloody Tears Seven Forms still required a brief moment to synchronize his Blade Essence and Spirit and Mind.
That moment was infinitesimally short—
But the Blood Emperor seized it instantly and struck with a blow Bu Eun-seol couldn't evade.
BOOM!
With a deafening explosion, Bu Eun-seol was blasted over 100 feet away by the Blood Emperor's palm energy.
THUD!
Only after crashing into a towering great tree did he finally manage to arrest his momentum.
TSSSSK—
As he forced himself upright, pale smoke continued to rise incessantly from his body.
The Blood Emperor's palm energy still couldn't pierce his Body Protection True Qi, but the Blood Emperor's energy infused within it was unstoppable.
Regardless of physical damage, it was evaporating his blood at an alarming rate.
"Heh heh."
The Blood Emperor let out a satisfied sneer as he observed Bu Eun-seol's paling face.
This strike had cost Bu Eun-seol roughly thirty percent of his blood.
About five hop in volume.
With that much blood evaporating in an instant, his blood vessels contracted violently, and his consciousness began to blur.
"Haa... Haa..."
Bu Eun-seol gasped for breath.
The Blood Emperor before him wasn't just a resurrected wraith from four hundred years ago—
He perfectly replicated the martial arts prowess of his prime.
If he were exposed to the Blood Emperor's energy one more time?
He would lose over forty percent of his blood, and he might die on the spot.
'One shot.'
Truthfully, Bu Eun-seol had multiple ways to deal with him.
He could unleash a barrage of devastating martial arts, scorching the earth and overwhelming him in an instant—
Then, in that opening, use the Bloody Tears Seven Forms again or even Harmonization.
But fearing that Man-wol, hidden underground, might get caught in the destruction,
he had restricted himself to sword techniques instead of more destructive martial arts.
On top of that, his inability to counter the Blood Emperor's energy immediately had cost him too much blood, dulling his focus...
In this situation, he had only one attack left.
If it failed, only death remained.
'No preparatory movements.'
The most powerful martial arts Bu Eun-seol could deploy were Harmonization and the Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
But the Bloody Tears Seven Forms already required time—and Harmonization took even longer.
If he stopped to gather energy for Harmonization?
The Blood Emperor wouldn't miss that infinitesimal opening—he'd immediately unleash the Blood Emperor's energy.
In short, what Bu Eun-seol needed right now was—
A martial art he could execute instantly,
with power surpassing the Blood Emperor's energy.
TAAAT!
Just then, the Blood Emperor's massive body moved with Lightning Flash speed, circling Bu Eun-seol in a dizzying whirl.
'Shit.'
Bu Eun-seol cursed inwardly.
As if reading his mind,
the Blood Emperor kept moving relentlessly,
ensuring that no matter what martial art Bu Eun-seol used,
he could counter with the Blood Emperor's energy without taking fatal damage.
CLANG.
Sheathing Ink Soul Sword, Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath.
Only two choices remained—
Abandon Man-wol's safety and clash with everything he had,
or flee.
'Let's do it.'
ZZZING—
Suddenly, a pale golden light spilled from Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
Langya Mind's Eye.
He had drawn a third option.
"KAAH—!"
The Blood Emperor, who had been moving erratically, suddenly split into dozens of shadowy clones, surrounding Bu Eun-seol.
Sensing the impending fatal strike, he prepared to unleash the Blood Emperor's energy first.
PAAAT!
But then—another unexpected twist.
The Blood Emperor, who had been darting around to deliver a decisive blow,
suddenly froze, head drooping as if struck in the gut.
Bu Eun-seol frowned in confusion—
Then he saw it.
Man-wol, hidden in the pit,
had regained consciousness and was stretching her arms toward the Blood Emperor, unleashing a strange power.
'Now.'
Seizing the perfect moment,
SWOOSH—!
Bu Eun-seol didn't hesitate—he instantly unleashed the Transcendent Meteor Chasing Moon Form.
Just as his blade was about to sever the Blood Emperor's neck—
WHOOSH!
A crimson energy erupted from the Blood Emperor's body.
At the last possible moment, he dispersed the Blood Emperor Secret Soul Energy like mist, blocking Bu Eun-seol's strike.
Crack!
The Blood Emperor Secret Soul Energy prevented the Shooting Star Chasing the Moon technique from cleanly severing the Blood Emperor's neck, leaving only a deep gash in its wake.
Sssk—!
In that brief moment, Bu Eun-seol staggered again.
Fortunately, unlike the Blood Wall of Rosy Clouds, the Blood Emperor Secret Soul Energy wasn't saturated with the Blood Emperor's energy.
Because of that, the amount of blood evaporated wasn't as severe—yet even so, dizziness washed over him.
"Huff!"
Just then, the Blood Emperor stretched out his hand once more.
In an instant, crimson walls coiled around Bu Eun-seol's body. The Blood Emperor was attempting to unleash the Blood Wall of Rosy Clouds in one go, intent on evaporating his blood.
But—
Something was strange.
The Blood Wall of Rosy Clouds didn't manifest. Instead, the Blood Emperor glared at Bu Eun-seol with terrifying intensity.
"You need to dodge."
A low, icy voice resonated in his ear.
At the same time, a woman's face—with eyes like polished blue gemstones—entered his field of vision.
It was Man-wol.
A faint glow emanated from her body, causing the Blood Wall of Rosy Clouds encircling them to grow hazy.
The Blood Emperor's movements had momentarily halted.
It seemed as though she had exerted some kind of power to make it happen.
"I can't hold him off any longer."
"What do you mean?"
"That man isn't the real Heavenly Fierce Star. He's just been forcibly imbued with its power."
"The Heavenly Fierce Star..."
Bu Eun-seol understood her words immediately.
And he also realized how the Ghost Children's faction had managed to revive the bodies and powers of past martial masters.
The One Hundred and Eight Stars—legendary figures said to possess unique abilities bestowed by the heavens.
They had sought them out once more.
And carved the same martial arts into their reconstructed bodies.
"Hurry."
'No choice.'
Whoosh—!
In the end, Bu Eun-seol followed Man-wol and dashed out of the area.
Kwa-oooh—!
A crimson radiance immediately pursued them relentlessly.
Before he knew it, the Blood Emperor was closing in at terrifying speed.
'Her movement technique won't be enough.'
"Forgive my rudeness."
Thud.
Bu Eun-seol hastily scooped Man-wol into his arms and sprinted away.
At the same time, he unleashed the Ultimate Speed Shadowless technique at full power—
KRA-BOOM! Flash—!
The Thunder Essence Divine Qi activated on its own, transforming into a streak of lightning that tore through the air.
Kwa-oooh—!
Having completely escaped the Seo-ryeong Mountain area through the open Life Gate, Bu Eun-seol continued pushing his movement technique to its limits.
Once he sensed the Blood Emperor was no longer pursuing them, he landed atop a steep cliff deep in the mountains.
Thud.
After carefully setting Man-wol down, Bu Eun-seol spoke with an apologetic expression.
"I acted improperly. But given the circumstances..."
Wobble.
Mid-sentence, another wave of dizziness hit him.
Facing an opponent like the Blood Emperor had drained both his Internal Power and Mental Power, and he had lost a significant amount of blood.
On top of that, he had pushed his movement technique to the absolute limit to escape Seo-ryeong Mountain.
His body had reached its breaking point.
Had he been an ordinary martial artist, his soul would have long departed for the Nine Heavens.
Thud.
Bu Eun-seol slumped down at the mouth of a cave and crossed his legs into the lotus position.
"I believe I must rest here for a while..."
His vision darkened at the edges.
He immediately swallowed a Soul-Stabilizing Elixir from his pocket before adding:
"You should leave first. Find safety."
And with that, he began circulating his energy.
Sssaaah—
Perhaps due to his blood loss, the Water Essence Divine Qi activated on its own as soon as he started.
A soothing sensation, as if submerged in water, washed over him—and in an instant, he slipped into a deep meditative state.
How much time had passed?
Lost in the State of No-Self, Bu Eun-seol continuously circulated his energy until, gradually, his consciousness began to return.
'That was dangerous.'
Unless he was unconscious, his extrasensory perception always kept track of his surroundings.
But this time, it was as though he had blacked out—plunged into a complete State of Circulatory Meditation.
Had enemies ambushed him in that state?
Or had wild beasts attacked? He would have died without even knowing why.
"You're still here?"
When Bu Eun-seol opened his eyes, Man-wol stood before him.
"This place is full of wild animals, you know."
Her calm words filled him with gratitude.
While he had been meditating, she had stood guard—just in case something went wrong.
"I appreciate your consideration, Lady Man-wol."
"Just repaying a debt."
Her voice was as clear and delicate as a songstress's melody.
"Now we're even."
As she turned to leave, Bu Eun-seol immediately called out.
"Wait."
When she glanced back, he approached and asked:
"Were you also affiliated with the Jungson Clan?"
Man-wol had displayed a mysterious power capable of halting not only Ghost Child but also the Blood Emperor's movements.
Moreover, she had instantly discerned the Blood Emperor's constellation.
It was enough to suspect she had deep ties to the Jungson Clan.
"What are you talking about?"
But Man-wol wore a baffled expression.
"The Jungson Clan?"
"You're not one of them?"
"Didn't you see earlier? Those were masters from the Ghost Children's faction."
"No, that's not what I meant."
Bu Eun-seol hesitated, unsure where to begin explaining.
"Before meeting you, I clashed with someone from the Jungson Clan. Not only could he command corpses—he claimed he could absorb the power of the One Hundred and Eight Stars."
Man-wol blinked her large eyes.
Only then did she realize Bu Eun-seol knew nothing—not even about her true identity.
"I'm not part of the Jungson Clan."
"Then who do you serve?"
"Later."
Man-wol's small, crimson lips parted in a whisper.
"I'll tell you later."
Her expression looked pained, as though she was enduring some torment.
Seeing her like that, Bu Eun-seol couldn't bring himself to press further about her origins.
"I understand."
And immediately, he shifted the topic.
"Then why on earth did the Ghost Children kidnap you? From what I saw, it seemed like they were trying to offer you as a sacrifice to create those demonic beings."
"I'm not the offering."
Man-wol gave a shocking reply.
"Those things... I was the one who made them."