Chapter 788
Bu Eun-seol gazed at the fallen disciples of the Thousand Poisons Sect, their bodies in wretched states, and wore an apologetic expression.
Heaving a sigh, he turned his eyes to Jo Seung-ji.
"That's why I told you to stop."
Jo Seung-ji, who knew Bu Eun-seol was a Poison Person who had cultivated terrifying Poison Art, mistakenly believing Bu Eun-seol's composed and courteous demeanor to be a ploy to mock him, clenched his teeth tightly.
"Did you come here to steal our sect's treasure?"
"Treasure? You mean the One-Horned Flood Dragon."
Bu Eun-seol waved his hand dismissively.
"I didn't kill it—that thing attacked me first."
"Attacked you first? Ridiculous. Did the flood dragon's inner core grow legs and run to you?"
Bu Eun-seol let out a bitter smile.
Though unintentional, he had, in effect, stolen another sect's most prized guardian artifact.
And since he still needed to inquire about the antidote for the Poison Parasite... no matter how arrogant and disrespectful Jo Seung-ji acted, he had no choice but to respond politely.
"I didn't steal it. That thing shot it at me."
Bu Eun-seol extended his palm.
"I blocked it, and it got absorbed into my skin."
"Nonsense! The One-Horned Flood Dragon's core can pierce even diamond. Are you saying it couldn't penetrate a mere human's palm and just got absorbed?"
His eyes flashed sharply.
"Hand over the One-Horned Flood Dragon's core immediately!"
At his murderous words, a middle-aged man who had been silently listening stepped forward and spoke.
"Young Sect Leader. It seems he has already absorbed the core."
He pointed at the mysterious glow emanating from Bu Eun-seol's body.
"That is the auspicious energy released when one assimilates an inner core."
Then, in an even lower voice, he continued.
"This man is a master beyond our sect's ability to contend with. We should report this matter immediately and defer to their judgment."
"Nonsense! How can you say that when you know what they'll do to us?"
Jo Seung-ji shook his head indignantly.
"And of all things, we failed to protect the One-Horned Flood Dragon's core. No matter what we say, our sect is finished."
Turning his head, Jo Seung-ji shouted loudly.
"Without reaching the realm of the Sage Among Poisons, it's impossible to absorb the core in one go!"
His voice thundered like lightning.
"Cut open his stomach! The unassimilated core must still be inside!"
"Raaaaah!"
With a roar, the Thousand Poisons Sect disciples, following orders, threw themselves at Bu Eun-seol in a desperate frenzy.
Their Poison Arts and Internal Power were formidable—strong enough to dominate an entire region.
But unfortunately, their opponent was Bu Eun-seol.
BOOM!
Thanks to his body containing the maximum possible Internal Power a human vessel could hold,
every time he was attacked, a Protective Astral Energy naturally unfolded around him.
And since the disciples were courageously striking that energy with all their might,
the recoil alone sent them sprawling, coughing up blood as they collapsed.
'If this continues, they'll be wiped out.'
Watching the disciples fall one after another, Bu Eun-seol lightly extended both hands and conjured a shockwave of Internal Energy.
'Without hurting them.'
Then, with the barest exertion, he released the shockwave.
WHOOSH!
But perhaps due to his overflowing Internal Energy, the charging disciples were sent flying over 100 feet.
"Stop. I have no intention of fighting you!"
Despite Bu Eun-seol's shout, they continued to charge without fear.
Each time, a circular Protective Astral Energy formed around him—
hard as diamond, yet elastic as a rubber ball.
THUD! THUD!
Eventually, half of the three hundred attacking disciples
were sent flying hundreds of feet away, severely injured by the recoil.
'Because I'm not retaliating, they think they stand a chance.'
Bu Eun-seol realized why the disciples kept attacking despite the overwhelming Protective Astral Energy.
'I need to make it impossible for them to even attempt it.'
Since they were only getting hurt by the recoil without him lifting a finger, they likely thought they could still fight.
If he handled this carelessly, they would just charge again.
Bu Eun-seol drew upon his Internal Energy once more.
ZZZING—
A strange vibration hummed as about fifty feet across Astral Energy Barrier unfurled around him.
The problem was that his Internal Energy was so overflowing
that the barrier extended even beneath his feet, forming a perfect sphere.
CRUNCH.
As the barrier carved a massive hole four yards deep into the ground—
"...!"
Bu Eun-seol's gaze turned as cold as the glaciers of the North Sea.
Having unintentionally dug deep into the earth... he had discovered hundreds of corpses buried beneath.
"You vile bastards."
His rage became uncontrollable.
The corpses buried near the pond had all been torn apart as if devoured by something.
Most of the flesh had been ripped away, leaving only bones and remnants of entrails behind.
"You kidnapped innocent people and fed them to that thing?!"
At last, Bu Eun-seol understood why the Thousand Poisons Sect had rebuilt itself on this uninhabited island.
While creating their Poison Pool and raising the One-Horned Flood Dragon,
they had secretly abducted commoners, evading the government's notice, and fed them to the beast.
Kukukukuku... Flash!
The shockwave of Internal Energy shook the very earth, and from Bu Eun-seol's pupils erupted a killing intent so fierce it seemed capable of tearing the world apart.
Until now, he had never once spared those who harmed innocent civilians.
"You are not worthy of living."
In that instant, an intense surge of True Qi and venomous energy simultaneously erupted from Bu Eun-seol's body.
The poison energy of the One-Horned Flood Dragon, fused with Reverse Polarity True Qi, had begun radiating outward once more.
BOOM!
Bu Eun-seol hurled a massive mass of Gang Qi toward the disciples of the Thousand Poisons Sect.
The sect members were not particularly skilled in martial arts, and their bodies stiffened in terror at his overwhelming martial prowess.
Thus, even as they saw the enormous black mass of Gang Qi hurtling toward them, they stood frozen, unable to even think of dodging.
Rumble—
The Gang Qi, now tainted black, engulfed them all, instantly altering the surrounding terrain.
Those struck directly by the Gang Qi melted away without a trace.
And even those who avoided direct contact were dying, their nerves completely paralyzed by the spreading poison energy.
"So you really did come to steal the Internal Core."
Jo Seung-ji, watching as Bu Eun-seol annihilated or poisoned the disciples without so much as lifting a finger, now believed him to be a poison Master who had come specifically for the core.
"Hmph."
Bu Eun-seol saw no worth in responding.
"Think whatever you want."
Slowly, he turned his body.
Thud.
At that, Jo Seung-ji also collapsed to his knees.
Though he had cultivated formidable poison arts that prevented his body from melting,
he was powerless against the venomous energy of the One-Horned Flood Dragon's core.
Whoooosh—
Suddenly, pale smoke began rising from the corpses of most of the disciples.
Drip... drip...
At the same time, their bodies began melting away like warm wax.
The power drawn from the One-Horned Flood Dragon's core was now fully manifesting its toxicity—
as if Bone-Melting Acid had been used, liquefying the corpses like strands of taffy.
"How vicious."
Just then, Bu Eun-seol's skin began darkening once more.
The power of the One-Horned Flood Dragon's core, which had fused with Reverse Polarity True Qi, was reverting back into pure poison energy.
"Ugh..."
As the flood dragon's venom spread, his vision blurred, and nausea rose in his throat.
"It seems the fusion with Reverse Polarity True Qi isn't yet complete."
Had he perfectly absorbed the core's energy,
he would have instantly reached the realm of the Saint Among Poisons, capable of generating any poison within his body.
"I'll need to separate this from my Original True Qi."
Bu Eun-seol shook his head slightly and murmured.
"If I keep using this poison's power, I'll only destroy my own body."
Mastering this venom would allow him to effortlessly eliminate countless powerful foes,
but he had only stored the flood dragon's poison energy in the form of True Qi through the Reverse Extremity Heart Method—
he hadn't fully absorbed it, nor had he learned the poison arts to wield it freely.
If he continued relying on this power, he too would succumb to fatal poisoning.
"No choice, then."
To freely control the One-Horned Flood Dragon's poison, he would need to master poison arts at the absolute pinnacle of the martial world.
Closing his eyes briefly, he began circulating the Taoist Heart Method Gongson Dan-a had once taught him.
Then, alongside the pure True Qi-formed core,
the core formed from the flood dragon's poison energy was neatly stored away in a corner of his dantian.
Immediately, all traces of poison vanished from his body,
and even his uncontrollably overflowing Internal Power stabilized into calm stillness.
"A truly miraculous secret."
Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath.
"This Taoist Cultivation Secret must have been devised by a Master who, like me, had accumulated Internal Energy so immense they could no longer control it."
Combining Hua Tuo's Five Spirits Revival and the Complete Truth Sect's secret, this method stabilized chaotic energies within the body
and condensed uncontainable Internal Power into an Internal Core.
In other words, it was undoubtedly created by some unfathomably powerful Master—
someone who, like Bu Eun-seol, had reached a level of Internal Energy so overwhelming they needed a way to protect their own body.
"Even in the past, the martial world had extraordinary experts, and because of them, martial arts advanced endlessly."
Bu Eun-seol gazed at the distant sky.
Human potential was said to be limitless, but how could it evolve so boundlessly?
"If this Poison Pool remains, another creature like the One-Horned Flood Dragon will be bred."
He ran his fingers through the transparent liquid filling the Poison Pool.
Having absorbed the flood dragon's core, the pool's toxins could no longer invade his body.
"Come to think of it..."
A realization suddenly struck him.
Thanks to absorbing the flood dragon's core, the Prajna Great Power—which had only manifested in moments of crisis—
had finally merged with his Original True Qi.
"Maybe now... it's possible?"
Bu Eun-seol gathered every ounce of power within him.
Golden light flashed across his entire body, and a dazzling radiance of five colors surged forth in an instant.
"It's working."
A look of exhilaration crossed his face.
Even without forcibly colliding his energies,
he had aligned them in mere moments, allowing him to unleash Harmonization.
"With this..."
Bu Eun-seol clenched his fist.
It couldn't be called instantaneous, but with Harmonization accelerated to this degree—
Couldn't he now fight Fist Adept on equal footing?
'Would I be able to react in time to his Limitless Power?'
Recalling Fist Adept's strike, Bu Eun-seol extended his hand.
Paa!
In an instant, a portion of the Poison Pool vanished.
Paa! Paa!
Bu Eun-seol used Harmonization three more times after that.
Sometimes he dispersed it widely, other times he concentrated it into a single line of force.
Rumble—
Finally, having completely erased the Poison Pool, Bu Eun-seol let out a deep sigh.
"It still doesn't manifest as quickly as I'd like, and I can't use it consecutively yet."
Beads of thick sweat clung to his forehead.
Even when using Harmonization, the maximum number of consecutive activations was around three.
If he switched to enveloping his body, he could sustain it for about fifteen minutes.
But since he hadn't yet obtained all the Spirit Energies, pushing beyond that would destroy his physical body.
"In the end, I must obtain the Spirit Energies."
Bu Eun-seol gazed at the distant sky.
No matter how much he aligned his internal power with Prajna Great Power, the Two Spirit Energies alone couldn't perfectly harmonize the forces within him.
To freely wield all the power he had gained, he needed the complete set of Spirit Energies.
Screeeech—
As the Poison Pool disappeared, a strange mechanical sound echoed from nearby.
Bu Eun-seol carefully examined the area, then used his Internal Energy to sweep away the piled-up dirt.
Beneath it, a massive iron gate was revealed.
It turned out the Thousand Poisons Sect had secretly built a hidden underground facility near the Poison Pool.
'Was this where the person managing the Flood Dragon lived?'
Creak—
Without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol stepped inside.
"This place—"
Upon opening the iron gate, a vast underground facility, seemingly connected to the pond, came into view.
They had invested enormous resources to systematically raise the Flood Dragon within the Poison Pool.
'A prison?'
But something was odd.
Near the facility, a small prison was enclosed by multiple layers of an extremely sturdy Boundary Formation.
Crash!
Bu Eun-seol shattered the formation and tore open the prison door.
Inside sat a middle-aged man with graying hair, his appearance haggard and filthy.
"Get lost."
The man seemed to have endured severe starvation and torture.
Wounds covered his body, and his vitality was greatly diminished.
Yet his gaze was sharp and imposing, making it clear he was no ordinary figure.
"I will never reveal the Thousand Poisons Secret Manual."
Bu Eun-seol frowned in confusion.
The Thousand Poisons Secret Manual was the sect's supreme Poison Art, permitted only to the Sect Leader.
So why was someone who appeared to be the Sect Leader imprisoned near the Poison Pool in the rebuilt Thousand Poisons Sect?
'Then—'
A thought occurred to him, and he asked,
"Are you the Sect Leader of the Thousand Poisons Sect?"
"Why ask when you already know?"
Shockingly, the prisoner was none other than Jo Baek-san, the Sect Leader of the rebuilt Thousand Poisons Sect.
"Your disciples are all dead. You can come out now."
"What?"
Instead of answering, Bu Eun-seol grabbed the chains and locks binding him and tore them apart with his bare hands.
Snap!
As sparks flew and the restraints shattered in an instant, Jo Baek-san's eyes widened.
"You tore apart chains made of Mysterious Iron with your bare hands?"
His expression turned fearful.
"Are you from the Three Realms?"
"No."
Bu Eun-seol laughed hollowly.
"If anything, I'm hostile toward the Three Realms. You need not worry."
"Then... are you from the Poison Heaven?"
Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed.
"Are you referring to the Eight Heavenly Servants, the Servants of the True Demon?"
"You're not one of them?"
"No."
Bu Eun-seol furrowed his brow.
"But how do you, Sect Leader, know about the Eight Heavenly Servants?"
"The Three Realms claimed they were raising the One-Horned Flood Dragon to destroy them."
Jo Baek-san shook his head.
"They said those beings were the ones ruining Murim."
Finally, Bu Eun-seol understood.
The Three Realms—servants of the Baekri Clan—were still clashing with the Eight Heavenly Servants.
And to counter their overwhelming power, they had been researching and preparing countermeasures.
'Even if they've fallen, they're still the Three Realms, huh?'
After a moment of contemplation, Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
"I have no ties to them. I only—"
He sighed deeply before continuing.
"I came because I heard the Thousand Poisons Sect had been rebuilt. There's something I need to ask."
"Something to ask?"
"I'm searching for a way to detoxify the Three Corpse Worms."
"The Three Corpse Worms?"
Jo Baek-san's expression shifted strangely.
He now realized Bu Eun-seol truly had no connection to the Three Realms or the Heavenly Servants.
"You possess such Martial Prowess, yet you're neither from the Three Realms nor the Heavenly Servants?"
"The world has more than just them."
"Incredible."
As Bu Eun-seol opened the prison door, Jo Baek-san stepped out, dazed.
But when he saw the completely destroyed prison entrance, his eyes bulged.
"There was an iron gate here made of Dark Gold—"
Scanning the surroundings in disbelief, his jaw dropped.
A gate of iron five feet thick and over fifty feet tall—
A massive iron gate as unyielding as a mountain range, one that not even a treasured sword could cleave through—
Had vanished without a trace.
'An unfathomable master...'
Jo Baek-san realized that Bu Eun-seol's martial prowess had reached a level bordering on the abyssal, and fear crept into his heart.
Yet he showed no outward sign of it as he slowly made his way out of the underground facility.
"This is..."
Once outside, Jo Baek-san's gaze darkened as he took in the sight of hundreds of corpses, their remains softened as if melted by lingering heat.
"Corrosive Blood Poison... No, this is body poison spread by one who has stepped into the realm of a Poison Demon."
His voice trembled as he turned to look at Bu Eun-seol, who had followed him out.
"You... absorbed the One-Horned Flood Dragon's core."
One who could absorb the core of the One-Horned Flood Dragon—
That was the pinnacle of poison arts, an invincible Poison Person beyond all restraint.
Wasn't such a feat possible only for a Saint Among Poisons?
'This is unbelievable.'
Jo Baek-san trembled to his core.
That the greatest Poison Person capable of staining the world with venom could be someone so young?
"It wasn't something I sought."
Bu Eun-seol calmly recounted how the One-Horned Flood Dragon had attacked him and how he had absorbed its core.
Jo Baek-san listened in silence, then gaped as if unable to believe it.
"You're saying there exists a mental cultivation method that can convert poison into internal energy—without even refining poison arts?"
"That's correct."
Knowing Bu Eun-seol wasn't lying, Jo Baek-san wore a dazed expression as he spoke.
"If you truly converted the core's poison into internal energy... then you've already reached the very edge of the Poison Demon realm."
Having transformed the most lethal poison in the world—that of the One-Horned Flood Dragon—into internal energy,
Bu Eun-seol had surpassed the Poison Person realm and stepped into that of a Poison Demon—without ever training in poison arts.
"Seung-ji...!"
But as Jo Baek-san scanned the surroundings, his eyes suddenly caught a familiar face among the corpses. With a scream, he rushed forward.
There, half-melted, lay the remains of his beloved son.
"You fool! I told you to know your limits!"
He wailed in anguish.
"Did you think slaughtering countless innocents would earn you the core of a demonic beast like the One-Horned Flood Dragon?!"
Bu Eun-seol faintly pieced together the situation.
Jo Baek-san had refused the Three Realms' proposal.
But his ambitious son had imprisoned his father in the underground prison and taken command of the Thousand Poisons Sect.
"Did you not realize their offer would drag our sect into the abyss of hell?"
Jo Baek-san's heartrending sobs echoed across the deserted island.
Listening to his grief-stricken lamentations, Bu Eun-seol grasped the full truth.
The Three Realms had stumbled upon the One-Horned Flood Dragon by chance.
Realizing that studying its poison and core—and taming it—required the Thousand Poisons Sect's Poison Pool,
They had provided the sect with vast funds and long-lost secret manuals to rebuild their poison arts.
Thus, the Thousand Poisons Sect was gloriously revived—but the price of its restoration was the management of the One-Horned Flood Dragon.
The sect had created a Poison Pool on this deserted island to nurture the beast—
Until one day, a careless disciple was devoured by it.
From then on, it transformed into a ravenous demon, endlessly craving human flesh.
But Jo Baek-san, as the sect leader, had taken immense pride in the Thousand Poisons Sect's poison arts.
To see it reduced to a mere tool of the Three Realms—
To witness his sect abducting innocent civilians to feed a demonic beast—
Had been more than he could bear.
"In the end... it was our own doing."
As if relinquishing all, Jo Baek-san's tear-streaked face gradually grew calm.
He had failed to properly guide his disciples.
He had failed to preserve the sect he rebuilt.
And he had brutally killed innocent civilians and made them fodder for a monster.
For that alone, he was a sinner who could never face the spirits of the Thousand Poisons Sect.
His son and disciples' deaths were merely the price of their sins.
"Sect Leader. I have a question."
Bu Eun-seol spoke carefully.
"I must neutralize the Three Corpse Worms. How can it be done?"
"The Three Corpse Worms?"
Jo Baek-san shook his head.
"That poison cannot be neutralized. It is bound to the user's spirit and mind."
"Then there is no method at all?"
"Well... there is one."
Jo Baek-san's voice lowered.
"If you ascend to the realm of a Saint Among Poisons... then you may be able to neutralize them."
He continued,
"Even if they are worms that devour the brain, they are still poison at their core."
His eyes flickered toward Bu Eun-seol's lower dantian.
"You have already absorbed the One-Horned Flood Dragon's core—laying the foundation to reach Saint Among Poisons."
"Hmm."
"If you absorb another Extreme Poison comparable to the flood dragon's... you will attain a Poison Saint Body, capable of neutralizing any poison."
A strange heat flickered in Jo Baek-san's eyes as he went on.
"And if you absorb two more... you will reach the realm of Saint Among Poisons—a legend unseen in Murim for three hundred years."
By absorbing the One-Horned Flood Dragon's core in the form of Reverse Polarity True Qi,
Bu Eun-seol had not only gained internal energy equivalent to ten cycles and discovered a way to neutralize the Three Corpse Worms—
He had also unlocked the ability to assimilate all poisons—lethal Extreme Poisons and even supernatural Heart Poisons—into his body, strengthening his physical form and internal power.
He could instantly create any poison within his body.
With but a light exhalation, he could reduce hundreds of feet to a wasteland of venom.
The legendary realm of a Poison Person—
The path to Saint Among Poisons—
Had now opened before him.