Chapter 937
'Nothing.'
Bu Eun-seol couldn't unleash a sword strike.
No matter how formidable the enemy, no matter how terrifying their power—if there was an opening, the Bloody Tears Seven Forms could cut through it.
But how could he cut down an enemy whose very presence eluded his senses?
BOOM!
At the same moment, his body—still slowly descending through the air—was sent flying dozens of yards away.
The Black Divine Heavenly Lord had unleashed another formless strike, slamming into Bu Eun-seol's body.
CRASH!
The force was so overwhelming that when Bu Eun-seol's body struck the ground, it carved out a massive crater.
WHOOSH—
As the wind scattered the dust, Bu Eun-seol rose into the air once more, encased in a transparent sphere.
Realizing he couldn't withstand such overwhelming power, he had immediately conjured his Protective Aura.
The ability to deploy a Protective Aura while suspended in midair was proof of an internal energy surpassing five hundred years of cultivation.
[Hmph.]
Yet, even knowing this, the Black Divine Heavenly Lord snorted dismissively.
Even if this insect had managed to endure a single strike from him—
From his perspective—
It merely meant the bug he had intended to crush instantly had now, at best, become a slightly faster one that evaded his grasp.
BOOM! BOOM!
The Black Divine Heavenly Lord continued to unleash his formless attacks without pause.
In response, Bu Eun-seol pushed his limits, executing the Ultimate Speed Shadowless technique.
Transformed into a streak of light, he began spiraling through the air.
His goal was to locate the Black Divine Heavenly Lord and deliver a decisive strike.
'Nothing.'
But no matter how far he extended his Extrasensory Perception, he couldn't detect the enemy anywhere.
Since emerging into the Murim, this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.
BOOM!
In that instant, another formless strike struck Bu Eun-seol midair, sending him crashing back to the ground.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Immediately, as if intent on crushing him outright, an overwhelming force began pressing down on the spot where he had fallen.
Bu Eun-seol activated his Movement Technique—
Already darting away at blinding speed, escaping the radius of the explosion.
Yet the devastating pressure, erupting like a chain of bombs, pursued him relentlessly, detonating continuously as it chased his high-speed retreat.
'At this rate, it's hopeless.'
A single direct hit from that power would be fatal.
Worse, he couldn't even sense where or how the Black Divine Heavenly Lord was unleashing his attacks.
If things continued like this, the only option left would be to flee until his feet bled.
'If I can't detect him, then I'll have to force him to reveal himself!'
—HALT!
Suddenly, Bu Eun-seol stopped mid-movement, standing firm in the air.
BOOM! BOOM! CRASH!
A series of explosions shook heaven and earth.
Yet he remained unmoved.
HUM—
Before he knew it, an impenetrable Protective Aura had enveloped his body.
He had channeled every last drop of his internal energy to forge an indestructible barrier, one that could withstand any assault.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The explosions continued relentlessly, but Bu Eun-seol didn't so much as flinch.
The truth was, his internal energy had long surpassed even ten sixty-year cultivation cycles—so vast it was practically immeasurable.
In fact, it had overflowed to such an extent that he had even formed an Internal Core.
Though his physical body had reached its limits, preventing him from utilizing his full power—
Now, facing the Black Divine Heavenly Lord's formless attacks—attacks that defied even martial arts to block—
He could finally unleash his boundless reserves of internal energy at full strength.
CRASH! CRASH!
The torrent of formless force grew increasingly violent, but in response, Bu Eun-seol's internal energy also began amplifying without limit.
'Even now, he still won't reveal his presence?'
BUZZ— BUZZ—
A faint radiance shimmered across his entire body as countless transparent points of light spread outward.
As his internal energy surged beyond ten sixty-year cycles—six hundred years of cultivation—even the ripples of his True Qi began manifesting visibly.
"Hahaha, this is nothing special."
To provoke the Black Divine Heavenly Lord, Bu Eun-seol deliberately stopped evading and stood his ground against the formless onslaught.
"So this is all the vaunted Death God Heavenly Lord is capable of?"
Did the taunt work?
Finally, the attacks ceased, and a scoff erupted from the heavens.
[So you're not just a mere insect after all.]
Only now did the Black Divine Heavenly Lord realize that the bizarre creature before him had amassed an internal energy of unfathomable depth.
"A mere insect?"
Bu Eun-seol replied as if he had been waiting for this moment.
"If you're so afraid of a counterattack that you hide and only speak from the shadows, then I might as well bite down on my sword and die here."
[Kehahahaha!]
Instead of anger, the Black Divine Heavenly Lord burst into Mad Laughter, as if genuinely amused.
[It's been nearly two hundred years since I last saw a properly insane bastard like you!]
'Two hundred years.'
A chill ran down Bu Eun-seol's spine.
That meant the Black Divine Heavenly Lord was a peer of the Buddha Honored One, who had lived as long as an immortal.
And considering his status as one of the Four Divine Heavenly Lords—
It was obvious that his martial prowess far surpassed even the Buddha Honored One's.
"If you lack the courage to show yourself, then just leave."
[Hahaha!]
The Black Divine Heavenly Lord erupted into thunderous Mad Laughter once more.
[Did you truly believe I refrained from revealing myself out of fear of a mere wretch like you?]
At those words, Bu Eun-seol realized something.
It seemed the Black Divine Heavenly Lord was also bound by some kind of Restrictive Seal, preventing him from revealing his true form.
'Found it.'
But the reason Bu Eun-seol had provoked him—
—was to momentarily halt the Black Divine Heavenly Lord's relentless assault and use the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi to pinpoint his location.
'Ravens, was it?'
The resonance of a voice creates minute vibrations through the air.
The Wind & Cloud Divine Qi could not only trace the path and direction of sound but...
...even detect the boundary where sound waves collided and clashed.
And finally, he managed to pinpoint the exact location from which the Black Divine Heavenly Lord's voice emanated.
'They've formed a battle formation with the ravens.'
The hundreds of ravens weren't just chaotically clustered in a circle—they maintained a specific formation.
It resembled a battle formation, emitting a particular wavelength and force, acting as a perfect veil to conceal the Black Divine Heavenly Lord's presence.
'If that's the case, then he's using the ravens as a medium—not just for his voice, but to channel his power as well.'
Moreover, the ravens weren't just standing still.
Occasionally, they flapped their wings in different ways from their respective positions.
In other words, even the Black Divine Heavenly Lord's intangible attacks—
—were clearly being released in specific directions by compressing his power through the ravens' movements.
'Don't tell me... he isn't even here?'
If he could project his voice and power through the ravens...
Then someone of the Black Divine Heavenly Lord's stature wouldn't even need to appear here in person.
[You...]
Just as the Black Divine Heavenly Lord was about to speak again—
Flash!
A brilliant light erupted from the Ink Soul Sword, spreading in all directions.
Bu Eun-seol unleashed the Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan technique infused with Thunder Essence Divine Qi, instantly cleaving through hundreds of ravens.
Bzzzt—CRACK!
The sword qi, laced with Thunder Essence Divine Qi, generated a violet current before evaporating the ravens in an instant, as if they had never existed.
Perhaps because he had switched to a completely different body—that of Seol-so, a fabricated persona—
—even when wielding Thunder Essence Divine Qi, no purple thunder qi or rumbling thunderclaps manifested.
[Hahahaha.]
Even after all the ravens had vanished—
—the Black Divine Heavenly Lord's mad laughter erupted once more from the sky.
[You're sharp, I'll give you that. To think you'd target this Heaven Lord's Black Ravens.]
Black Ravens.
It wasn't a reference to some dark god... but to the ravens themselves.
[A fine attempt, but alas, futile.]
As his voice echoed—
Caw—CAAW!
The cries of another massive flock of ravens resounded from the sky.
Whoosh—!
And in the next moment, hundreds more ravens reappeared, identical in number.
[The Black Ravens are immortal. They cannot be erased.]
There was no such thing as an immortal existence.
Bu Eun-seol knew that for a fact, but he didn't argue.
Because he hadn't yet found a way to deal with that endless flock of ravens.
[Let me show you just a glimpse of this Heaven's power.]
Oooom—
With a tremor that shook the world, the hundreds of ravens suddenly began transforming—
—gradually taking on humanoid shapes before solidifying into the forms of heavily armored infantry clad in black plate.
It was an absurd enough situation to draw a hollow laugh, but it wasn't surprising.
Those who surpassed the bounds of human understanding—
—like the Old Man of the Sanctuary or the Martial God Heaven Lord—had already demonstrated superhuman abilities beyond words.
So the fact that someone of the Black Divine Heavenly Lord's caliber could transform ravens into an entire army—
—wasn't something to be shocked by.
Shhhk—
The hundreds of Black Divine Ones, clad in thick armor, dyed the pupils hidden beneath their helmets a deep crimson.
Shhhk—
Assuming combat stances, they—
RUMBLE—
—charged at Bu Eun-seol like a swarm of hornets.
Flash!
Drawing the Ink Soul Sword, Bu Eun-seol immediately began cutting them down.
CLANG!
They were so durable that even the Ink Soul Sword, infused with Internal Power equivalent to four Cycles, couldn't cleave through them in a single strike.
BAM! CRASH! SLASH! WHOOSH!
Bu Eun-seol became a streak of lightning, swiftly cutting down the swarming Black Divine Ones.
But though they fell, they did not die.
'They're hollow.'
Inside their armor, it was as if ghosts resided—utterly empty.
BOOM! WHOOSH!
Yet their movements and Internal Power were as refined and powerful as those of the Murim's Superlative Martial Experts.
It was impossible to believe that such force was being exerted by mere phantoms with hollow insides.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
No matter how many he cut down, the Black Divine Ones collapsed only to reform and charge again endlessly.
CRASH!
Even when he shattered their armor with a devastating punch—
CRACKLE—HISS!
—or froze or melted them with the Glacier Thousand Streams Art and Great Stillness Heat River True Qi—
RUMBLE—
—they simply reverted to their original forms and continued their relentless assault.
"So he truly has no interest whatsoever."
In the martial world, a master capable of simultaneously wielding extreme Yin and Yang martial arts like the Glacier Thousand Streams Art and the Great Stillness Heat River True Qi—
—was, without exaggeration, none other than Bu Eun-seol himself.
Yet, no matter what martial arts he displayed, the Black Divine Heavenly Lord showed not even a flicker of reaction, nor the slightest curiosity.
"Well, that makes sense."
At present, the Black Divine Ones were demonstrating a majesty akin to an invincible legion—no matter how much they were shattered or cut down, they simply would not die.
If one could freely command such Black Divine Ones—
—they could annihilate countless sects of the martial world in an instant and rise as its supreme ruler.
No matter how extraordinary a martial artist might be, in his eyes, they would seem nothing more than mere flies.
"One thing is certain—there must be a main body."
There was no such thing as an immortal, invincible existence in this world.
Even the Enemy Annihilator, once commanded by the Lord of Deathly Hall, had boasted the attribute of absolute immortality—
—but in the end, wasn't he merely a puppet whose life was tied to the Lord of Deathly Hall?
Most likely, the Black Divine Ones under the Heavenly Lord's command were the same.
Either their main body had to be killed, or whatever granted them power had to be destroyed—that much was certain.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! CRACK!
Bu Eun-seol, who had been relentlessly unleashing fist and sword techniques, gritted his teeth.
Unfortunately, at this moment, he was far from finding the main body—merely dealing with the swarming Black Divine Ones was already beyond his capacity.
RUMBLE—SHATTER!
The Black Divine Ones, clad in massive armor, did not pause for even a breath—
—and the sheer force of their attacks was so overwhelming that even Bu Eun-seol could not easily deflect them.
In their current state, with no discernible weakness, they were nothing short of an invincible legion.
"Then I'll switch to a different form of fist technique."
CRACK!
Focusing his internal energy, he altered the Seven Forms of the Fist Demon, shifting from merely shattering the Black Divine Ones to making them explode.
CRUNCH—SHATTER!
When he unleashed the Forgetful Shattering Together, the Black Divine Ones burst apart, scattering into dust in the air.
GRIND—SPLATTER!
But it was the same as before.
Whether shattered or reduced to powder, the Black Divine Ones instantly restored their forms and lunged at him again.
[You've mastered countless martial arts, I see.]
Only then did the Black Divine Heavenly Lord chuckle lowly, as if finally finding Bu Eun-seol's techniques intriguing.
[But it's useless. Even if you were to unleash Limitless Power, you still wouldn't be able to stop the Black Divine Ones.]
At those words, Bu Eun-seol's body stiffened momentarily.
Even Limitless Power couldn't neutralize these Black Divine Ones?
Did that mean the Black Divine Heavenly Lord had reached the Heavenly Will Realm, and that only someone of comparable strength could hope to kill him?
RUMBLE—
Though it was only a brief hesitation, to a master like the Heavenly Lord, it was an eternity.
Spotting Bu Eun-seol's opening, the Heavenly Lord commanded the Black Divine Ones to rise into the air—
—and they descended upon him like a black tidal wave, swallowing his body whole.
FLASH—CRACK!
Bu Eun-seol immediately unleashed every martial art he had, shattering the attackers—
—but fragments of them gathered beneath his feet.
GRIND—RUMBLE!
In an instant, the Black Divine Ones reformed from the wreckage and lunged again.
Before long, Bu Eun-seol's body was completely engulfed by the swarm of Black Divine Ones, his figure vanishing beneath them.
BOOM!
He tried to blast them away by detonating his internal energy and the Three Divine Powers—
SHATTER—SCATTER!
—but even as they turned to dust, they clung to his body like liquid, and before he knew it, they had piled up like a mountain.
THUNDEROUS ROAR!
Bu Eun-seol's body began moving at blinding speed.
Since shattering them only made them stick faster, he attempted to shake them off with an ultra-high-speed movement technique.
"Tch."
But it was futile.
The remnants of the Black Divine Ones clinging to his body had a bizarre suction force—
—draining his movement technique and internal energy endlessly.
RUMBLE—
Meanwhile, the shattered Black Divine Ones reformed and leaped into the air, descending upon him once more.
One by one, they latched onto him, until—
BOOM!
—unable to bear the weight, Bu Eun-seol, now encased in a massive black sphere, crashed to the ground.
[Good. You've been caught in the Origin Absorption Art.]
The Black Divine Heavenly Lord chuckled darkly.
[Now, you shall become nourishment for the Black Divine Ones.]
GLOOP—GLOOP—
The black sphere that had swallowed Bu Eun-seol began shrinking steadily.
The Origin Absorption Art—
—was a technique of essence absorption, where the Black Divine Ones trapped their prey, draining their original essence and essence blood to further strengthen themselves.
GULP—GULP—
Before long, the sphere, once as large as a house, had shrunk to the size of a single person.
Hundreds of Black Divine Ones clung to Bu Eun-seol's body like liquid, endlessly sucking away his essence blood.
[Impressive. You're still holding your form.]
The Heavenly Lord sounded genuinely surprised.
[I truly wonder—just who was it that raised such a disciple?]
"Even the Abbot of Shaolin—possessing the highest level of internal energy among the Righteous Faction—couldn't last eight minutes trapped within the Origin Divine Scripture."
"Yet this brat, appearing out of nowhere, has endured nearly a full quarter."
Since mastering the Origin Divine Scripture, he had never seen anyone last this long.
[His martial arts have also reached an indescribably unique level... Had he endured for ten more years, he might have become a rival on par with this Lord.]
Though he spoke those words, there was no trace of pity in the Black Divine Heavenly Lord's voice.
Fate was always the same.
Those who opposed him were doomed to have their essence blood drained by the Black Divines until they perished.
[Shall we proceed?]
Fwoosh.
At the same time, the fallen white-clad woman's body floated back into the air.
The Black Divine Heavenly Lord intended to deliver this fake Baekri woman to Neither-Human-Nor-Beast as a test subject.
'Am I... dead?'
Bu Eun-seol's consciousness grew hazy, surrounded by the Black Divines.
They weren't merely covering his body—they were closer to living beings, each possessing a bizarre force and suction power.
They were like entities of the unknown, impossible to shake off or destroy.
'This was a power I couldn't overcome.'
He had no choice but to admit it.
The Black Divine Heavenly Lord's strength was beyond his ability to contend with.
Had he been given time to calmly analyze the principles of the Black Divines...
Perhaps the outcome would have been different. But in the end, what-ifs remained just that.
'I failed to keep my promise to the Chief Strategist.'
—Promise me. If you sense danger, you will not engage. You will retreat.
He had agreed to Gongson Dan-gyeong's demand, yet... he had broken that promise.
'Why?'
Until now, Bu Eun-seol had perfectly analyzed his enemies and seized victory through that understanding.
But the Black Divine Heavenly Lord's power defied immediate comprehension—its very origin was unfathomable.
And the result was death.
'Was it arrogance? Had I grown complacent because, until now, no opponent had pushed me to the brink?'
No.
He had already faced the Martial God Heaven Lord.
He could gauge just how formidable a fully empowered Black Divine Heavenly Lord was.
Yet, for some reason, he hadn't fled. No—the thought of fleeing hadn't even crossed his mind.
As if, like all the enemies he had faced before, he could unravel the Black Divines' power and easily rescue the white-clad woman.
—If you sense danger, you will not engage. You will retreat.
When Gongson Dan-gyeong's voice echoed in his mind once more, he finally realized.
'I didn't sense any danger.'
For some reason, even after encountering this Heavenly Lord of the Death God Heaven, he felt none of the tension that should have come—no prickling of hairs, no burning in his veins.
Even if his opponent was stronger, if he gave it his all, he could surely defeat them.
They had merely felt like another of Murim's superlative martial experts.
Squelch.
Meanwhile, the Black Divines covering his body continued to shrink him endlessly.
At this rate, he would keep diminishing until he was reduced to a speck of dust and vanished entirely.
'No. That's not it.'
These things couldn't threaten his life.
If they had, his cells would have sounded the alarm, and he would have chosen to flee, even if it meant biding his time for revenge.
'Come to think of it, I still have many martial techniques left unused.'
He hadn't poured out everything he had.
He hadn't even used his most devastating technique, the Bloody Tears Seven Forms, nor Harmonization.
'Why is time stretching like this?'
No matter how accelerated his thoughts were, no matter how much his martial prowess had grown...
The process of dying was far too long and tedious.
His breath wasn't being cut off—if anything, his mind was growing clearer.
And then—
Sssss—
His right palm grew searing hot, and a strange scripture began pouring into his mind.
—Abandon thought to perceive truth. Forget even the heart to grasp principle.
It was an abrupt passage from the Heart-Seal Method.
And it had nothing to do with his current predicament.
'What am I supposed to abandon?'
Bu Eun-seol swallowed a bitter laugh.
'I've already forgotten even my own wretched fate.'
As an endless loneliness welled up, all his thoughts were washed away.
It wasn't intentional—
But among the scriptures flooding his mind, one phrase aligned with his spirit and mind:
Mangsa deukgak —"Forget all thought, and you shall attain enlightenment."
Zzzzzzt—
In an instant, a cold yet bizarre sensation surged from his palm.
Without realizing it, he covered his right eyeball with his hand.
Hssss—
At the same time, his eyeball grew scorching hot, and an unfathomable power began gathering.
That power expanded his blood vessels, set his entire body aflame, then gradually cooled.
Flash!
When he opened his eyes again, an endless blue energy was flowing from his right pupil.
'What... is this?'
His eyeball burned as if it would ignite.
If left unchecked, it felt like it would become a flame that consumed his entire body.
But something was strange.
Unlike before, the forms of the Black Divines clinging to him now overlapped in his vision.
His left eye saw them as they had always appeared.
But through his blazing right eye—something sticky and unseen before now became visible.