Chapter 949
They clasped their hands together fervently, but it was not a prayer.
Their fingers were clenched so tightly they turned white—some gripped with such force their nails dug into the backs of their hands.
Their unfocused pupils stared blankly into the void like hollow glass marbles, devoid of any vitality.
Even more grotesque were the sounds spilling incessantly from their mouths.
"Urgh, urgh, urgh, urgh."
The low, guttural noises reverberating from deep within their throats were not mere groans.
At times, they sounded like the gasps of suffocation,
other times like the desperate struggle to force out incomprehensible words.
Occasionally, pained moans mingled with beastly growls, sending chills down the spines of those who heard.
Faced with such a bizarre spectacle, even the unflappable Bu Eun-seol could only stand there wide-eyed, unable to close his mouth for a long while.
"What are you doing?"
Finally breaking his concealment, Bu Eun-seol approached the people quietly.
"Urgh, urgh, urgh, urgh."
Despite the presence of an unfamiliar outsider in the manor, they showed no sign of surprise or curiosity.
They merely knelt in prayerful postures, continuing to emit those "urgh, urgh" sounds.
'Something has happened.'
Thud.
Immediately stomping his foot to send vibrations through the ground, he unleashed his Void-Breaking Mind's Eye in all directions.
The interior of Cheongun Manor was too vast and its structure too complex.
Rather than inspecting every corner, he sought anyone still behaving normally.
'There's one.'
Fortunately, inside the manor's warehouse, he found a man who wasn't praying—instead, he was crouched against the wall.
Bu Eun-seol swiftly approached.
The middle-aged man wasn't praying, and his face still bore some semblance of sanity.
'A martial artist.'
He was Mo Tae-ung, a Taoist from the Kunlun Sect who had taken residence in Cheongun Manor as a guest warrior.
"Hey, you."
"..."
But Mo Tae-ung didn't even glance at Bu Eun-seol, still staring blankly into the void.
"What in the world has happened here?"
After a long silence, Mo Tae-ung spoke with hollow eyes.
"We are insignificant beings."
His voice was low, almost muttering.
"Of course, we must offer prayers of joy to welcome such a great existence, no?"
"A great existence?"
As Bu Eun-seol tilted his head in confusion—
Thud.
Mo Tae-ung dropped to his knees.
"Urgh, urgh, urgh."
Soon, he too began chanting those eerie sounds in prayer.
"Hey."
No matter how many times Bu Eun-seol called, there was no response.
He tried infusing Internal Energy, even mimicking the Phantom Restoration to cast the Mind-Seizing Art.
But no method worked—Mo Tae-ung never regained his senses, only continuing to mutter strange words.
'What kind of situation is this?'
Bu Eun-seol scanned the manor once more, but there was no one left with an intact mind.
Shhh—
By now, a light drizzle had begun to fall.
Stepping outside the manor, Bu Eun-seol investigated the surroundings.
Not far from Cheongun Manor, he found a beggar taking shelter from the rain inside Guan Shrine.
"Hey, you."
Never in his life had he been so relieved to see a beggar.
Pulling out a sizable silver tael from his pouch, Bu Eun-seol spoke in the friendliest tone he could muster.
"Let me ask you something."
Despite the generous offering,
the beggar didn't even glance at him, as if he were merely a passing leaf.
"Do you know what happened to Cheongun Manor?"
"Cheongun Manor..."
At the mention of the manor, the beggar trembled violently, his face twisting in fear.
"I-I know nothing."
"I'm just asking."
Bu Eun-seol softened his expression and pressed the silver tael into the beggar's hand.
Then, he infused Reverse Polarity True Qi to help clear the man's mind.
'It's working.'
Unlike the people in the manor, the beggar readily absorbed the pure energy.
"A plague had struck Cheongun Manor. The lord and all his dependents were dying. But then, by fortune, the Saint visited."
"The Saint?"
"Yes. The people of Cheongun Manor said... he is a most sacred being, an Agent of God."
Thanks to the abundant infusion of Reverse Polarity True Qi, the beggar's eyes gradually regained clarity.
"The Saint personally entered the manor, bending down to cleanse the bodies of the afflicted. After his devoted treatment, they were all miraculously healed."
"Then why are they like this now?"
"I don't know."
The beggar clutched his head fearfully.
"After he left, everyone in the manor went mad. They say it's only natural to offer such prayers... since they had welcomed such a great existence."
Then he shuddered violently.
The middle-aged beggar had survived on scraps thrown by the manor's servants.
Now, seeing all the once-sane dependents lose their minds at once... it was both eerie and terrifying.
"Thank you."
Bu Eun-seol continuously channeled the profound Reverse Polarity True Qi to calm the beggar's mind.
The man, who had been trembling in fear, soon fell into a deep, ragged sleep.
Withdrawing his True Qi, Bu Eun-seol gazed at the distant sky.
"So, the Saint is the True Demon?"
If that were the case, then the True Demon had taken the form of a saint and was driving people to madness?
"No, that can't be."
Was the ultimate goal of an ancient evil, passed down since the dawn of time, merely to make people go insane and run wild?
Compared to its divine majesty and authority, such an aim seemed pitifully insignificant.
Moreover, this kind of act—
Wasn't it no different from the atrocities committed by Yeon-wol, the subordinate of Neither-Human-Nor-Beast?
"Plagues haven't been widespread lately."
Recently, epidemics had been rare.
The recurring famines and wars had ceased.
With the Empress Dowager's faction, allied with the Three Realms, weakened, corrupt officials had less room to run rampant.
Because of this, the government offices were functioning properly.
Then perhaps this so-called Saint didn't cure the plague—he spread it.
Upon returning to the Demon Hall, he mobilized the Evil Soul Squad.
They began searching for villages where plagues had recently struck—or where people had survived after falling ill.
—Four months ago, something similar happened in Sang'an Village.
According to the Evil Soul Squad's investigation, an incident similar to Cheongun Manor's had occurred in Sang'an Village of Yang-cheon.
This small village, populated by herb gatherers, had suffered an epidemic four months prior.
Strangely, the villagers had suddenly and completely recovered from the disease.
But this had been a temporary phenomenon.
The elderly, weakened during the recovery process, had eventually succumbed and died.
Only the young had barely survived.
—Our unit thoroughly investigated Sang'an Village but found no significant leads.
There's something here.
After receiving the report, Bu Eun-seol immediately left the Demon Hall and set out to investigate Sang'an Village.
This time, however, he did not go as Seol-so, the wandering martial artist, but as his true self—the Martial Soul Lord.
Considering the name "True Demon," there was a chance something beyond his control might occur, so it was safer to act under his official authority.
Of course, this carried the risk of exposing that Seol-so and Bu Eun-seol were the same person.
After all, the one Neither-Human-Nor-Beast had given clues to was Seol-so.
But there's no way they'll find a connection to Seol-so.
Even so, he began the investigation openly—
Not as Seol-so, but in his true identity.
Because he had deliberately crafted his movements to appear as though he had coincidentally obtained information about Sang'an Village through the Evil Soul Squad's intelligence network, grown suspicious, and launched an investigation.
The elite members of the Evil Soul Squad had meticulously prepared for this.
No matter how suspicious Neither-Human-Nor-Beast became, no matter how deeply he dug into the traces—
He would find nothing amiss.
Every clue had been thoroughly concealed, and even the fabricated footprints and movement routes had been perfectly hidden.
This way, we can also gauge the scale and capability of Neither-Human-Nor-Beast's intelligence network.
If he instantly saw through the Evil Soul Squad's fabricated movements and trails—
Then his intelligence organization far surpassed theirs.
In that case, they would have to completely reassess their evaluation of the information networks operated by Neither-Human-Nor-Beast and the other Servants of the True Demon.
Ultimately, this course of action—
Was built upon a meticulous calculation to extract additional information about Neither-Human-Nor-Beast.
Zzzing.
Drawing upon the Empty Mind Spirit Perception, he combed through every inch of the village.
Since this was originally a village of herb gatherers with a sparse population—
And most of the deceased had been elderly—
Even after multiple funerals, the atmosphere was only slightly subdued, no different from any ordinary village.
Bu Eun-seol diligently roamed the village,
Observing and verifying various things, but he could find no concrete leads.
No clues yet, but—
A faint smile touched Bu Eun-seol's lips.
...I've caught the tail.
From the moment he entered Sang'an Village until now—
An extremely unpleasant, blatant gaze had faintly but persistently lingered on him.
Bu Eun-seol was certain—
That gaze was the eye glow of a supreme master observing him while concealed.
So thin and faint it feels like intuition.
In all his years wandering the martial world, he could count on one hand the number of times he had sensed a presence this faint.
That meant these individuals were masters of concealment—
Far surpassing any he had encountered before, practitioners of an exceptional Hidden Stealth Secret Art.
About ten of them.
As he surveyed the ruined village, Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath.
They had concealed their presence so well that even estimating their numbers was difficult.
If their Concealment Secret Art was this refined, their martial arts and movement techniques must be extraordinary.
I can't let a single one escape.
Whoosh.
As he activated his Internal Energy, the pebbles beneath his feet suddenly floated into the air—
Paaah!
Like fireworks exploding, they shot high into the sky before scattering in all directions.
Ziiing.
The air around the village grew transparent as a mysterious energy radiated outward in all directions.
In a single breath, he had deployed a boundary formation capable of sealing the entire village—an application of the Life-and-Death Combat Formation executed in an instant.
Kurung.
At the same time, as if lightning had struck the clear sky, a dark shadow materialized atop the village warehouse's roof.
Bu Eun-seol had moved at blinding speed.
"The weather's warm, so you've all gathered here on the roof, huddled together?"
His voice was directed at the transparent shadows concealed on the warehouse rooftop.
"Judging by the White-Shifting Stealth Cloaks you're wearing—each worth the price of an entire fortress—you're no ordinary assassins."
The White-Shifting Stealth Cloak.
A miraculous treasure artifact woven from Heavenly Silkworm Silk, refracting light through powdered Silverlight Ore, Clearwater Crystal, and Lightless Stone, perfectly reflecting the surroundings to render the wearer invisible.
But the cost of crafting a single cloak matched the price of an entire castle.
Only a select few could afford them—the Pavilion Lords of the Demonic Path Ten Gates' Ultimate Assassin Pavilion, a handful of their elite members, and the leadership of the Assassin Curtain, the foremost assassination sects in the Murim.
Yet here, all ten hidden figures were clad in these priceless cloaks.
Tap-tap-papap!
Instead of answering, they unleashed a storm of silver hidden weapons straight at Bu Eun-seol's face—over a thousand of them, a number even the greatest hidden weapon master couldn't possibly release in a single instant.
"Wicked Incense?"
Bu Eun-seol's gaze turned icy in an instant.
The weapons they used were unmistakably crafted in the same manner as those employed by the murderer who had slain his grandfather—genuine hidden weapon devices from Wicked Incense.
'I exterminated them with my own hands...'
He had personally wiped out Wicked Incense, annihilating their sect.
Yet their weapons still circulated in the Murim.
'Those monsters must all be destroyed.'
Wicked Incense's hidden weapons were too vicious, too destructive—classified as forbidden arms in the martial world. They had to be eradicated.
Thud-thud-thud.
The projectiles dropped harmlessly to the ground before even touching him, repelled by his Protective Aura.
KWA-BOOM! CRACK!
The Sound of Breaking Air and shattering metal echoed simultaneously as the hidden weapon devices in their hands clattered to the earth.
Though their forms remained invisible, Bu Eun-seol had pinpointed the location of their weapons from the trajectories of the fired projectiles—and with a flick of his fingers, he destroyed them all.
Fwap-fwap!
In that instant, the transparent shadows scattered in all directions like startled birds.
Realizing they stood no chance against Bu Eun-seol, they chose flight without hesitation.
Kurung.
But as they fled—
THUD!
They collided with an invisible barrier spanning dozens of yards around the village, forcing them back to the ground.
The boundary formation Bu Eun-seol had laid earlier blocked their escape.
Zzzt-zzzt!
Cornered, they swiftly drew glowing rods from their robes—Ascension Secret Staves, treasures of the Eastern Sea Zen Gate, capable of shattering any formation in an instant—and began dismantling the barrier.
"You really do carry every portable treasure artifact imaginable."
As Bu Eun-seol drew Ink Soul Sword—
FLASH!
A brilliant light erupted, and razor-sharp sword qi cascaded toward the transparent figures.
Tap-tap!
They dispersed swiftly, maintaining their invisibility, but the sword qi clung to them like vengeful ghosts.
This was the fourth stance of the Formless Heavenly Flow—Caged Bird Longing for Clouds, where launched sword qi could be freely maneuvered mid-air.
Ssskkt!
The icy blade energy, sharp enough to flay skin, spread in intricate patterns—
Thuck!
—and in a single stroke, severed the necks of three fleeing martial artists.
Crimson blood lines materialized across their transparent forms before blood sprayed violently into the air.
The scattered droplets, caught in the storm of sword qi, fluttered like red maple leaves.
"Attack!"
Realizing escape was impossible, the shadows immediately unleashed a barrage of assaults toward Bu Eun-seol.
'The Ultimate Assassin Pavilion?'
The sword techniques these cloaked warriors wielded—
Were they not the Five Paths Assassination Sword, one of the Assassin Sword Arts of the Ultimate Assassin Pavilion?
"So you're assassins from the Ultimate Assassin Pavilion?"
Clang-clang-clang!
Deflecting every strike with Ink Soul Sword, Bu Eun-seol frowned.
If they truly were assassins from the Ultimate Assassin Pavilion, they had no reason to fight him.
"Enough."
Swish.
Removing his hood, he spoke in a low voice.
"Cease your movements."
Jolt.
The transparent figures, mid-assault, froze the moment they saw his face.
Their bodies jerked violently as if greatly startled, freezing mid-movement.
The heir of the Demon Hall, the Martial Soul Lord.
There wasn't a single practitioner of the Demonic Path who wouldn't recognize that face.
"What are assassins of the Ultimate Assassin Pavilion doing here?"
"..."
"Remove your White-Shifting Stealth Cloaks and declare your affiliation and rank."
At Bu Eun-seol's solemn command, the transparent shadows seemed to exchange glances—
Pat pat pat!
Instead of the Five Paths Assassination Sword, they unleashed a bizarre sword study, throwing themselves at him with desperate ferocity.
This was neither orthodox nor unorthodox—a strange sword study that belonged to neither faction.
Even if they died, they were determined to drag their enemy down with them in mutual destruction.
"So you insist on drinking the cup of punishment."
Bu Eun-seol furrowed his brow, effortlessly deflecting their sword strikes with the Ink Soul Sword.
He could kill them in an instant if he wished.
But if they were connected to the Saint, he had to capture them alive and uncover their identities and purpose.
Pat pat pat! CRACK!
Yet, the sword study of the transparent figures grew even more bizarre as they poured out their attacks.
It was as if even their sword techniques were clad in the White-Shifting Stealth Cloak—their strikes invisible.
And with every clash of weapons, an intangible needle seemed to bore into his meridians as though piercing them.
'Are they truly assassins of the Ultimate Assassin Pavilion?'
The hallmark of assassin martial arts was extreme simplicity—techniques designed solely to sever an enemy's breath.
But the sword study raining down upon him now was closer to the orthodox faction's style.
Sword strokes that targeted only the meridians were notoriously difficult to master.
They required extensive training yet yielded little in terms of raw power.
There was no reason the Ultimate Assassin Pavilion, the pinnacle of assassins, would teach such a thing.
Shwa-ra-rak!
In that moment, their sword study shifted once more.
Suddenly encircling Bu Eun-seol, they began weaving a dense sword curtain around him.
This was not a technique meant to kill—but to block all directions and restrict movement.
'Preparing for a mutual explosion, then.'
Bu Eun-seol saw through their intentions in an instant and stretched out both hands.
If they were forming a sword curtain to trap him before detonating themselves with a technique like the Dragon-Subduing Soul-Expelling Blast—
He would have no choice but to fall helplessly into their trap.
Shwak!
In that instant, dozens of black blades of true qi shot forth, piercing through the transparent figures.
He had shattered their formation by breaking through the sword curtain with the Willful True Binding.
Fwoo fwoo fwoo!
The Willful True Binding shifted midair, spreading outward like thorns.
Drip drip drip.
Countless wounds opened, blood flowing freely—and as it did, the White-Shifting Stealth Cloaks slowly stained crimson, revealing their forms.
"If you are not affiliated with the Demonic Path Ten Gates, there's no need to spare any of you."
Shwak! Shwa-rak!
Altering the shape of the Willful True Binding once more, he cleanly severed the heads of six more shadows.
Whoosh— Thud.
Blood sprayed in all directions, drenching the lone remaining figure.
And as the crimson liquid soaked into him, a man gradually took shape—a bloodied figure emerging from the haze.
"Judging by your stance, you resemble an intelligence operative more than an assassin."
Bu Eun-seol sighed, knowing this man was prepared to end his own life at any moment.
"Even if I ask, you won't reveal your identity or purpose?"
"..."
The man moved to slit his own throat without hesitation—but Bu Eun-seol's Willful True Binding was faster.
Crack.
In an instant, Bu Eun-seol's fingers struck eighteen major acupoints, and a faint energy current spread from his body.
Since he couldn't force the man's mouth open—
He would use the Heavenly Robe Mind Art to analyze his martial roots and deduce his identity.
"You've been trained to endure torture even if your limbs are torn apart. And you've been implanted with a restrictive seal to keep secrets even under the Soul-Seizing Art."
"..."
"Your mental cultivation method is complex. You're definitely of the Demonic Path faction, but your cultivation method was newly devised to make your martial arts origins impossible to discern to defy analysis."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes narrowed to slits.
"There are only a handful of grandmasters in the Murim capable of creating such a method."
As Bu Eun-seol swiftly unraveled the man's martial foundation, the cloaked operative's expression darkened.
Realizing there was no way out—
Crack crack crack!
He forcibly unsealed his blood circuits using Primordial Essence True Qi, drew his sword in an instant, and slashed at Bu Eun-seol with a fast sword technique.
Shoom!
But every move was anticipated—Bu Eun-seol's index and middle fingers caught the blade mid-air.
"Ghk—!"
The man strained with all his might to reclaim his sword.
Yet despite detonating his Primordial Essence True Qi, he couldn't even pull the blade free from Bu Eun-seol's fingers.
Creak.
Meanwhile, Bu Eun-seol channeled his internal energy and tore away the concealing mask of the stealth cloak.
Beneath it was the face of a middle-aged man—likely in his forties—bearing the marks of grueling training and harsh trials.
"Heh heh heh heh..."
Now exposed, the man let out a cruel laugh, his lips twisting into a vicious smile.
"Martial Soul Lord. You've unmasked me and slaughtered my subordinates... In the end, you too will face punishment and die."
'Punishment... So that's it.'
Bu Eun-seol stared at the man with a profoundly grave expression.
"The Demonic Heavenly Emperor."
These men clad in White-Shifting Stealth Cloaks—
They were members of a secret organization covertly operated by none other than the Demonic Heavenly Emperor himself.