Chapter 813
"Wow, how terrifying."
The boy blinked forcefully, masking his surprise.
"I expected your martial prowess to have risen dramatically... but I never imagined it would reach this level."
As if trying to regain his confidence, the boy bared his white teeth in a grin.
"That's why I'm asking—you didn't actually think I came alone, did you?"
Gurgle. Gurgle-gurgle.
Suddenly, a sound like croaking frogs began echoing from somewhere.
Gurgle-gurgle. Gurgle-gurgle-gurgle.
The noise grew louder and louder.
Soon, it was ringing madly from all directions, as if it would tear through eardrums.
Whoosh.
At the same time, around the abandoned manor—
Glossy shadows surged up from the ground one by one, revealing themselves.
They wore no clothing, their bare skin exposed like shaved beasts.
They had no hair—not even the genitalia one would expect to see.
They were nothing more than grotesque lumps of flesh molded into human shapes.
"Shall we see just how far you've ascended?"
As the boy's words fell—
Gurgle-gurgle.
The martial artists shaped like lumps of flesh let out bizarre, frog-like cries before—
Fwoosh!
Leaping hundreds of feet into the air, only to suddenly plummet toward Bu Eun-seol.
Flash!
Bu Eun-seol unleashed a terrifying cross-shaped sword qi, over a hundred feet wide, toward them.
It was the third form of the Formless Heavenly Flow—Fading Moon and Dawn Stars.
Yet, despite the slashing sword qi, the martial artists continued pouring toward Bu Eun-seol without pause.
Slash-slash-slash-slash!
As the Ink Soul Sword was swung at blinding speed,
Hundreds of sword qi rained down like a storm, slicing the flesh masses of the martial artists into hundreds of pieces.
Shhhhk—
But the bodies of the martial artists, severed by the sword qi, were hollow like mud—not a single drop of blood spilled.
Because of this, chunks of flesh-like fragments began piling up around Bu Eun-seol.
'This...'
Bu Eun-seol's pupils flashed as he observed the accumulating flesh around him.
'Neither-Human-Nor-Beast.'
The thought crossed his mind—that the boy before him might not be a member of the Return-to-One Realm but rather the leader of the Eight Heavenly Servants, who commanded Neither-Human-Nor-Beast.
'There's a probability.'
The Return-to-One Realm had only ever struggled to recreate past masters—they had never produced grotesque flesh abominations like these.
'Of course, they could have been recently created.'
But Bu Eun-seol felt that the boy's methods aligned less with the Three Realms and more with the endlessly bizarre techniques of Neither-Human-Nor-Beast, whom he had encountered countless times before.
'Whether it's Neither-Human-Nor-Beast or the Three Realms, he must wield authority rivaling that of a high-ranking leader.'
Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to command so many flesh abominations at once.
Slash-slash-slash-slash!
With every high-speed swing of the Ink Soul Sword,
The attacking Neither-Human-Nor-Beast creatures were not just sliced apart—they were reduced to dust, scattering to the ground.
Even if thousands more of these abominations swarmed him, they wouldn't be able to so much as graze a single hair on Bu Eun-seol's body.
"Hohoho. Your sword techniques are impressive."
But the boy, watching from afar, curled his lips into a sweet smile.
"But you should have realized they aren't human."
Drip-drip-drip.
Meanwhile, the flesh fragments piled around Bu Eun-seol began melting like liquid—
Squelch.
And in the same instant, they formed a massive, sky-covering membrane that threatened to swallow him whole.
Sploosh!
Bu Eun-seol unleashed another wave of sword qi to slash through the membrane—but it was a feint.
The flesh fragments scattered on the ground
Had liquefied, creeping up his ankles—and before he knew it, they had already risen to his chest.
"Tch."
As the liquid spread across his limbs, Bu Eun-seol found himself unable to move, no matter how much strength he exerted.
Glop. Drip-drip.
The liquid had already climbed to his neck in an instant.
At that moment, he felt a sensation both scorching hot and freezing cold.
Simultaneously, emotions—both sorrowful and joyous—flooded over him.
As his body was engulfed by the melted liquid of the abominations,
Every possible emotion and sensation that flesh and mind could perceive cycled endlessly within him.
Gurgle-gurgle.
Before he knew it, Bu Eun-seol was trapped in the viscous liquid.
"Hoh."
The boy let out an intrigued sigh as he observed Bu Eun-seol being swallowed by the liquid.
"Not one of the One Hundred and Eight Stars, yet with such an ordinary bone and muscle structure... To reach this level of mastery."
It seemed he had the ability to examine the bone structure and physique of those submerged in the liquid.
"Unbelievable."
The boy muttered lowly, as if unable to comprehend it.
"I thought you must have possessed extraordinary bone structure and constitution."
To surpass the martial limits achievable by the younger generation and reach a level that could dominate Murim—
He had assumed Bu Eun-seol must have been born with an exceptional foundation.
Even if not that, he had been certain there would be something else.
But the sensations transmitted through the liquid told him only one thing:
This was merely a body and mind tempered to their utmost limits.
Nothing more than an utterly ordinary, commonplace physical form.
Whoosh.
The spot where Bu Eun-seol had stood had, before anyone realized, become a towering mountain of flesh.
"What a waste of time."
A sigh escaped the boy's lips as a sickly yellow light flickered in his pupils.
"No matter how high one's martial realm may be, if their bone and muscle structure is mediocre, they're useless."
Shooo—
Pale mist began rising from the mountain of flesh.
Invisible Poison Harm.
What the boy had unleashed was none other than an esoteric Poison Technique—one that only a Master who had reached the pinnacle of Poison People could wield.
The flesh masses that had lunged at Bu Eun-seol were not actual humans but phantom warriors conjured from poison.
Thus, the boy could freely shift them between liquid and solid states.
"Given that you've survived battles against countless Masters, I suppose it makes sense that my Mindscape wouldn't work on you."
The boy grinned coldly.
"But Invisible Poison Harm is absolutely inescapable. Even a Poison Person who's spent their entire life refining Poison Techniques couldn't withstand it."
With techniques that transcended the limits of Poison People, the boy had created poisons and methods unseen in this world—and with them, he had melted Bu Eun-seol in an instant.
Drip... drip...
The towering mountain of flesh dissolved like water.
No matter how formidable one's Martial Arts, no matter how overwhelming their Martial Prowess—once trapped within a mountain of poison potent enough to liquefy even iron, there could be no hope of survival.
Plop.
But then, something astonishing happened.
Amid the dissolving flesh, the outline of a human figure began to emerge.
"Huh?"
The boy's eyes widened in shock.
"Even if he deployed Protective Aura, it shouldn't have mattered."
The poison he had created had already adhered to the flesh of Bu Eun-seol's arms and legs.
Even if he had summoned Protective Aura in that state, it wouldn't have stopped the liquefaction.
So how was a living presence still detectable?
"No way—"
The boy's voice trembled with disbelief.
As the melted flesh fully drained away like liquid, Bu Eun-seol stood there—completely unharmed.
"How...?"
Just as the boy muttered in confusion—
Hiss.
Bu Eun-seol, having vaporized the poison clinging to his body, curled his lips into a faint smile.
"Not a bad Poison Technique. Thanks for the lesson."
"Wha—?"
Only then did the boy realize—the liquid clinging to Bu Eun-seol's body had lost all its toxicity, turning into nothing but plain water.
Which meant he had either absorbed the poison into his body or completely neutralized it through the profound principle of Poison Against Poison.
"Poison Saint Body...?"
The boy shook his head in disbelief.
"How could you reach such a realm without me detecting it?"
That Bu Eun-seol had attained extraordinary Martial Prowess was common knowledge.
But the fact that he had mastered such terrifying Poison Techniques was completely unknown.
"No, that can't be."
Those who trained in Poison Techniques emitted a distinct energy unique to Poison People.
Even if one reached the level of Sage Among Poisons, completing the Poison Saint Body was impossible to conceal.
Yet Bu Eun-seol showed no trace of having trained in Poison Techniques at all.
"Don't tell me... you've learned the martial arts of the Poison Emperor, one of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars?"
"The Poison Emperor? Please."
Bu Eun-seol scoffed.
"To take pride in poison this mediocre—how amusing."
He meant it.
No matter how potent the boy's poison was, it couldn't compare to that of the One-Horned Flood Dragon.
So when the boy's poison entered his body, Bu Eun-seol naturally absorbed it—
Just as he always had.
And stored it once more in the form of True Qi.
Moreover, since Bu Eun-seol's body already housed the poisons of the One-Horned Flood Dragon and the Wind God Palace in the form of an Internal Core—
He could detoxify any poison.
No poison could corrupt his flesh.
"Well, well. I've made a mistake today."
The boy forced a bitter smile and shook his head.
"I shouldn't have relied solely on poison... Let's meet again next time."
His body began fading into transparency.
He was openly attempting to flee.
No matter how much Bu Eun-seol's Martial Prowess had grown, the boy was confident he couldn't be stopped.
But he didn't know.
That not only had Bu Eun-seol's Martial Prowess advanced dazzlingly—he had also obtained the legendary Wind & Cloud Divine Qi.
Whoosh—
A sudden gust of wind disrupted the boy's fading form, restoring his color.
With a single thought—I won't let you escape—Bu Eun-seol exerted his power.
The Wind & Cloud Divine Qi merged seamlessly with his Water Essence Divine Qi, and in an instant, it pierced into the boy's body.
It had sealed off the energy within his body.
"This is..."
The boy stared in astonishment at the transparent energy that had penetrated his body.
"You can use the Art of Spells as well?"
Had Bu Eun-seol used only the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi, the boy would have instantly detected it.
But the Water Essence Divine Qi was the most natural of the divine energies.
When combined with the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi, it unfolded like a mystical spell even the boy couldn't perceive.
"This is truly astonishing. To think the Pavilion Lord of Langya Pavilion would teach something like this."
At those words, Bu Eun-seol's eyebrows twitched upward.
'The Pavilion Lord is well-versed in the Art of Spells?'
Ak Mu-ryeong was known solely as a figure who devoted himself to martial arts, with no recorded history of ever employing spells.
Yet, listening to the boy's words, it almost sounded as if he were implying Ak Mu-ryeong was a master of them.
"I surrender. I can't break this."
The boy shrugged as he looked down at his own body.
"There's the power of dissolution in it—I can't shake it off no matter what."
Flash.
A glint flickered through Bu Eun-seol's pupils.
Just now, the boy had unleashed a terrifying Poison Technique potent enough to poison the entire world in an instant.
Yet, his body remained utterly immobilized by the Two Spirit Energies.
'So that's how it was.'
Only now did Bu Eun-seol realize—the boy hadn't truly mastered Poison Techniques.
Instead, he had stored poison within his body solely to execute the Invisible Poison Harm.
And with that, he also unraveled the secret behind that peculiar, unseverable physique.
"Where is the old man's corpse?"
"You've misunderstood. Unfortunately, I'm not actually a member of the Return to One Sect—"
But his words were cut short.
The Ink Soul Sword flashed, instantly slicing halfway through his neck.
"You won't feel pain, and no blood will spill."
A bloody light spread through Bu Eun-seol's pupils as he watched the boy's head loll unnaturally.
"You don't have a separate, perfected body like the Supreme Emperor. Most likely, you've linked part of your true self to this puppet-like flesh."
The boy had unleashed a Poison Technique beyond imagination—
One that far surpassed even the realm of Transcendent Mastery.
It possessed an absolute might that not even a Master of the Martial Extreme Realm could block.
And yet, it couldn't resist the power of the Two Spirit Energies at all?
That meant this puppet-like body was—
Nothing more than a vessel of poison, crafted solely to execute the Invisible Poison Harm, directly connected to his true self.
But now, the Two Spirit Energies had penetrated his body and severed that connection.
Despite possessing a body steeped in terrifying abilities and Extreme Poison, he couldn't even flee—trapped without resistance.
"Truly, you are a formidable adversary. A truly formidable adversary."
The boy clapped in admiration as Bu Eun-seol deciphered his secret.
"So it really is true that you killed the Spear Master."
Then he continued.
"Is the information you want from me only about the old man's corpse?"
"..."
"Honestly, I don't know. Even if you kill me."
His expression remained composed.
"You should know better than anyone that torturing me is useless. In that case, wouldn't it be better to just get the information you want?"
Even if this shell was part of his true self—
It wouldn't affect his life.
No matter how much he was tortured, no useful information could be extracted.
"So? Are you interested?"
The boy was proposing a deal—information in exchange for his release.
"Where is the old man's corpse?"
"I told you. I'm not part of the Return to One Sect."
The boy spoke boldly.
"Ask me something else instead."
"You're saying you'll tell me everything you know?"
"Of course not. If I were going to do that, I might as well just lose a part of this body, don't you think?"
The boy's eyes curved into crescents.
"Information about Neither-Human-Nor-Beast."
He spoke decisively.
"I'll tell you about them."
Shockingly, the boy was implying that he wasn't affiliated with the Return to One Sect—but rather, the Eight Heavenly Servants.
"How do I know if that's the truth?"
"You can verify it through the Phase. Whether it's true or a lie."
When someone creates a Mindscape—
Within it, they become an invincible existence. Or even defy the laws of nature.
But the downside is that those trapped within—
Can glimpse into the caster's memories.
The boy was suggesting using this to prove his words were true.
"However, I can't give you information that would destroy Neither-Human-Nor-Beast's faction. For example, their headquarters... or the true nature of the Lord of Heaven."
In short, he refused to disclose anything that could actually dismantle the organization.
Bu Eun-seol studied the boy for a moment.
His beaming smile made it seem as if he considered all of this nothing more than a game.
'Fine.'
Having devised a plan, Bu Eun-seol gave a slight nod.
"Your affiliation?"
"This shell belongs to Neither-Human-Nor-Beast. Naturally, I'm part of them."
Meaning his true self might not be.
But since the boy had only agreed to speak about Neither-Human-Nor-Beast, Bu Eun-seol didn't press further.
"What is Neither-Human-Nor-Beast's purpose?"
"An excellent question."
The boy grinned.
"To provide a temporary vessel for him to inhabit."
Then, in a clear, ringing voice, he added:
"Because he undergoes endless reincarnation, if he keeps occupying a child's body, he'll soon be killed."
"Reincarnation, you say..."
"Correct. The Murim people call him the True Demon."
Bu Eun-seol's pupils rippled like disturbed water.
So, the claim that the True Demon retained his memories through reincarnation wasn't mere nonsense after all.
"Then, does that mean he wasn't sealed away?"
"Oh, he was sealed. His soul was scattered in all directions, and he can't find his original body."
"Then why create a temporary one?"
The boy beamed brightly.
"Because the method to create his complete body is different. So, Neither-Human-Nor-Beast is merely crafting a temporary vessel in the meantime."
In short, Neither-Human-Nor-Beast's goal was to create a temporary body for the True Demon to inhabit until he could obtain a real one.
"So that's why Ghost Child and the Ghost Spirits were sent into Murim? To research bodies?"
"Exactly. Even a temporary vessel requires a special constitution. Otherwise, the Great Art won't take hold."
The boy shook his head.
"Of course, it doesn't always succeed... So they're constantly studying the bodies of powerful warriors, trying to replicate them."
A strange thought occurred to Bu Eun-seol.
Everything described so far—
Wasn't it essentially the same as what the Return to Unity Realm did?
"Are the Return to Unity Realm and Neither-Human-Nor-Beast one and the same?"
"Not at all."
The boy shook his head again.
"But they are in a cooperative relationship. The Return to Unity Realm inherited the Baekri Clan's Great Art... and Neither-Human-Nor-Beast is essentially the cradle of the Demon Gate Great Method. Their affinities align."
"So, the two factions joined forces in their research."
"You could say that."
Bu Eun-seol's expression darkened with incomprehension.
"Why would opposing factions collaborate like this?"
"The Return to Unity Realm may call themselves the Three Realms, but they're completely insane."
The boy laughed.
"They desire absolute ruin."
"Does that align with the True Demon's goals?"
The boy shook his head.
"Not at all. He has existed since the dawn of time, possessing eternal life. What meaning would destroying Murim hold for him?"
"Neither-Human-Nor-Beast follows some deranged doctrine completely different from the other Human Heavens. Why use that as an excuse to slaughter innocents?"
"Can't really call them 'innocent,' can we? They're being reborn stronger, after all."
The boy grinned cheerfully.
A flash of light flickered through Bu Eun-seol's silently observing eyes.
This one is an outsider.
From the boy's answers so far, two facts could be inferred.
First, this boy was not a legitimate heir of Neither-Human-Nor-Beast.
The sect revered an absurd doctrine—that killing weak humans allowed them to be reborn stronger, and enduring suffering burned away the karmic retribution of the flesh.
They treated this doctrine as sacred, believing in it unshakably.
Yet the boy showed no such reverence or deep-seated faith in it.
Second, he referred to the True Demon casually as "him."
If even Fist Adept—a figure of his standing—referred to the True Demon with the honorific "His Eminence," then even if this boy were the Lord of Heaven of Neither-Human-Nor-Beast,
He wouldn't dare address the True Demon so informally.
Which meant this boy wasn't a true member of Neither-Human-Nor-Beast but rather someone from another faction collaborating with them.
Bu Eun-seol cut straight to the heart of the matter with his next question.
"Are you also a member of the Covenant?"
"Oh, were you offered an invitation?"
The boy let out an impressed exclamation.
"Congratulations. At your age, you'd be the first to receive it."
So that's it.
The one controlling the boy's true form was not only considerably older but also a Murim warrior affiliated with the Covenant.
After all, the Old Man in Blue had said no one as young as Bu Eun-seol had ever been invited before.
And the Covenant only extended its offers to those who had already attained great power.
In other words, this boy wasn't truly Neither-Human-Nor-Beast but a Murim warrior—either impersonating the sect for some reason or collaborating with them.
I'll uncover the truth.
Though the boy hadn't been entirely honest, Bu Eun-seol didn't press the issue.
In fact, he had deliberately played along to expose the boy's true identity.
"Understood."
Zing.
With a nod, Bu Eun-seol immediately released the Two Spirit Energies he had been channeling into the boy's body.
"Go."
The boy tilted his head in puzzlement.
"Is that all the questions you have?"
Frankly, almost none of the boy's answers had contained any truly crucial information.
He had expected the real interrogation to begin now—yet Bu Eun-seol was ending it here?
"As long as the condition stands that I won't dismantle your organization, there's nothing more to ask."
Bu Eun-seol's pupils grew endlessly cold.
"After all, you'll stubbornly stick to vague answers and only increase the confusion."
The longer the conversation dragged on,
the more the boy was deliberately obscuring even the facts Bu Eun-seol already knew.
If the whole truth couldn't be revealed,
then further conversation was meaningless.
"I have nothing to say, since you've already figured it out that far."
Truthfully, the boy never intended to give Bu Eun-seol any proper information.
He'd already made it clear he wouldn't reveal the headquarters' location or the Sect Leader's identity.
His plan was to answer truthfully—yet with cunning rhetoric—to amplify confusion through what was being asked.
"There are many ways... to speak only the truth while still sowing chaos."
Using his promise to answer Bu Eun-seol's questions as bait,
the boy had instead devised a plan to deepen turmoil in his spirit and mind.
"The Demonic Heavenly Emperor often employs such methods. Isn't that right?"
Bu Eun-seol's eyes narrowed slightly as he realized something.
"In truth, you never cared if your physical body was destroyed. All that feigned fear, pretending to answer my questions—it was just an act."
"Exactly right."
The boy shrugged his shoulders.
"But even knowing that now, you wouldn't go back on your word, would you?"
Bu Eun-seol glared at him,
then reluctantly nodded.
"I'll send you off as promised. Go."
"Good. The Martial Soul Lord truly lives up to his reputation for honor."
The boy gave a thumbs-up.
"Then let's meet again next time."
Whoosh.
In an instant, he vanished, employing a mysterious movement technique akin to the Art of Spells.
"..."
Bu Eun-seol stared indifferently at the spot where the boy had disappeared, then let out a cold smile.
"I said I'd let you go. I never said I wouldn't immediately give chase afterward."
Grandmasters of Murim guarded their words like gold, considering it shameful to break them.
Especially someone like Bu Eun-seol, whose words and actions were always aligned—so the boy would have trusted him implicitly.
But since he never promised not to pursue, he could rightfully chase after him without hesitation.
"Of course, you must have been confident I'd never catch you—that's why you didn't demand such a promise."
The boy had been sure of himself.
If Bu Eun-seol only unsealed the technique suppressing his internal energy,
even if he gave chase in earnest, the boy believed he could shake him off in an instant.
After all, back on Yeongpa Island, he'd vanished so quickly that Bu Eun-seol couldn't even begin pursuit.
"In the past, I might have lost you."
But there was one thing the boy could never have imagined.
That Bu Eun-seol possessed not just one, but three of the Four Divine Powers among his divine energies.
And that one of them was the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi—capable of detecting the flow of wind infinitely.
"But now, I won't let you slip away."
Whoooosh.
As he unleashed the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi, a faint breeze swept in, and Bu Eun-seol's body turned completely transparent.
The Wind & Cloud Divine Qi was a force infinitely close to nature itself, and by channeling it,
he melded perfectly with his surroundings, as if performing an Extreme Realm-level Concealment Art.
Fwip!
Activating his movement technique, Bu Eun-seol swiftly advanced in the direction the boy had vanished.
It didn't matter if it was the Art of Spells, a movement technique, or a transformation art.
Whether the boy had turned into a wooden stick or a fly, he would have cut through the air to move.
And since he hadn't been gone long,
Bu Eun-seol could immediately detect the residual flow and track him.
Tzztzztzztzztz.
In his transparent form, Bu Eun-seol rapidly traced the path of the boy's movement.
The Swift Shadowless was, by nature, a Body-Locomotion Martial Art closer to Concealment Art—so much so that even sharp senses would struggle to detect traces of its activation.
But combined with the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi, not only did his form become completely invisible,
even the presence of his movement technique vanished, as if he were employing the Turtle Breath Grand Art.
Tzztzztzztzztz.
How long had he been pursuing?
Before he knew it, the sun had begun to set.
The boy's movement technique was truly like light itself—Bu Eun-seol could barely keep up.
'He's extremely cautious.'
Preparing for even the slightest chance of being pursued,
he had readied individuals with exceptional movement techniques and similar builds to obscure his trail.
It was a simple, outdated method—one that intelligence organizations with spiderweb-like information networks wouldn't use.
Yet in this situation, it was highly effective.
Had Bu Eun-seol not been tracking him with the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi?
Even with the most advanced Tracking Art or the backing of a formidable intelligence network,
he wouldn't have been able to pinpoint the boy's exact movements.
'Whatever his true identity is, one thing's certain—he's not a young person of his generation.'
Just judging by his escape methods, these weren't techniques young Grandmasters of the current age could wield.
Without a doubt, his true form was that of a battle-hardened veteran martial artist with considerable experience.
Fwoosh.
Bu Eun-seol precisely traced the boy's residual traces, relentlessly continuing the pursuit.
And finally, on the third day,
he managed to locate the boy's true headquarters.
Because that was where the trail ended—where no further movement could be detected.
'This place...'
Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath as he gazed upon the massive, ornate entrance.
The Demonic Path's Greatest Sword Sect.
The place the boy had slipped into was none other than the Fire Rain Sword Sect.