Chapter 969
KWA-BOOM!
Bu Eun-seol instantly unleashed a lightning-fast Movement Technique, darting toward their location like a gale.
'I must hurry!'
If the Poison Lord intervened, saving the mother and daughter would become nearly impossible.
Fortunately, he was still leisurely approaching from afar in his palanquin, but there was no telling when he might suddenly activate his Movement Technique and charge into the battlefield.
'Damn.'
In an instant, Bu Eun-seol arrived at the densely packed swarm of enemies. His gaze locked onto the center of the encirclement, where a bleeding woman lay collapsed, and a young girl desperately tried to shield her.
It was the woman who had been imprisoned in the temple's Water Prison—and her daughter, Seong-a.
When Seong-a took the form of a mature woman, she not only could absorb all the energy within Bu Eun-seol's body but also wielded a terrifying power capable of shaking the very foundations of the Underground Castle.
But in her child form, she was nothing more than an ordinary girl.
As if they had discerned this weakness, the Poison People relentlessly bombarded them with long-range Poison Techniques, ruthlessly targeting only the fallen woman and ignoring the girl.
"Aah!"
Seong-a screamed, flailing her arms at the martial artists, but they paid her no mind, ceaselessly unleashing their venomous attacks.
Drip... drip... drip...
Eventually, the woman collapsed helplessly, black blood oozing from her wounds under the Poison People's assault.
"AAAAH!"
Seong-a, utterly lost, burst into tears and clung to her fallen mother.
"You monsters!"
KWA-RUMBLE! KWA-RRRRUMBLE!
In that instant, countless violet flashes of light surged from the sky before crashing down upon the earth.
ZZZZT! ZZZT!
Where the light touched, blade-like purple lightning erupted violently in all directions.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The bodies of the surrounding Poison People exploded into bloody mist in the blink of an eye.
But Bu Eun-seol didn't stop there.
He mercilessly unleashed hundreds of lightning blades forged from his Thunder Essence Divine Qi, raining them down indiscriminately.
SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!
Until now, he had avoided using Thunder Essence Divine Qi to directly execute Killing Moves—reserving it only to enhance the speed of his Movement Techniques or the rapidity of his martial strikes.
Attacks with Thunder Essence Divine Qi were so brutal they could obliterate flesh beyond recognition, leaving not even corpses behind.
And because he believed that the bodies of the dead deserved as much respect as those of the living, he had rarely employed it for lethal techniques.
Only against the most heinous figures—like the head of the Peng Clan, a man who had tormented his sworn elder brother Noe Bi-hon his entire life, a member of the Three Realms, and a practitioner of the Blade Emperor's Ultimate Arts—had he ever unleashed such devastation.
But now was different.
To witness such depravity—imprisoning a defenseless woman in the Water Prison, subjecting her to cruel torture, and then, even after her desperate escape, poisoning her to drive her toward such a gruesome death—
Unbearable rage surged through him, boiling to the very crown of his skull.
"You don't deserve to live."
ZZZZT! KWA-RUUUMBLE!
As Bu Eun-seol released his Thunder Essence Divine Qi at full power, the world itself trembled from the vibrations.
The martial artists attacking Seong-a burst apart like overripe fruit, leaving behind only viscous pools of blood.
In the time it took to take a few deep breaths—
Bu Eun-seol had reduced hundreds of martial artists to nothing more than pulped flesh.
Strangely, despite clearly witnessing this carnage, the Poison Lord showed no urgency—still approaching slowly in his palanquin.
But Bu Eun-seol had no time to dwell on that.
"Madam."
He immediately approached the fallen woman.
"Ah... ah..."
Seong-a looked up at him, tears streaming down her face, as if pleading with all her heart for him to save her mother.
"I understand. Step back—I'll examine her."
Huuu...
First, Bu Eun-seol began absorbing every trace of the vicious poison that had infiltrated her body.
Yet even after completely purging the toxin, her condition showed no improvement.
Blood continued to flow ceaselessly from her ears, nose, and eyes.
'The poison forced her wounds to rupture in the end.'
She had barely recovered after taking the Miraculous Revival medicine Bu Eun-seol had given her.
But when that extreme poison invaded her body, the sutured blood vessels tore open once more.
Huuu...
Realizing there was nothing more to be done, Bu Eun-seol channeled pure Reverse Polarity True Qi into her without pause, ensuring she would at least feel no pain.
Perhaps sensing his warm compassion, the woman slowly opened her eyes.
"I'm sorry... Eun-gong."
Her expression was filled with remorse.
"My poor judgment has wasted your precious Elixir."
"Don't trouble yourself with such thoughts."
"...I owe you an apology for not speaking earlier. Though it's late, I'll tell you everything now."
She looked as though she might draw her last breath at any moment. Yet, gasping for air, she stubbornly continued.
"About the Great One."
"The Great One... you mean the existence that retains its memories and endlessly repeats the cycle of Reincarnation. Correct?"
She nodded weakly.
The woman's head dipped in affirmation, her breath ragged.
Huuung.
As Bu Eun-seol channeled another surge of Reverse Polarity True Qi infused with Water Essence Divine Qi into her, her breathing steadied slightly.
"In truth, my daughter Seong-a..."
The woman gazed at Seong-a with tender, sorrowful eyes.
"...is the first 'New Bloodline' that the Great One so desperately desired."
"New Bloodline?"
For a moment, the words the Saint had spoken earlier flashed through Bu Eun-seol's mind.
—His true desire is for all people in this world to become like him. In mind and body alike.
"Are you saying this child is part of the True Demon's perfected new generation of humans?"
"So you already knew."
The woman exhaled shakily before answering.
"At first, they were called 'New Humans' or 'Opening Humans.' But now, they simply refer to them as 'New Bloodlines.'"
The True Demon had finally succeeded.
A new era of humans, molded in the image of his own mind and flesh.
The 'New Bloodline' was complete.
But the truly shocking revelation was yet to come.
"And the Great One's goal... is to replace himself with a child conceived by the New Bloodline, to be reborn anew."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes widened.
"Replace himself with a conceived child?"
The True Demon's most terrifying ability was his power to endlessly reincarnate while retaining his memories.
For a being like him, there should be no need to forcibly seize the body of an unborn child.
'Perhaps her consciousness is too hazy, and she's explaining it wrong.'
Just in case, Bu Eun-seol pressed further.
"Then is he attempting to use a forbidden art like the Innate Reversal Art to alter the fetus's constitution and power?"
"No."
The woman's voice trembled as she spoke.
"He truly intends to steal the body of a child conceived by the New Bloodline."
"Because... the Chain of Reincarnation has been severed."
"What do you—"
"The Great One's power has grown far too immense... Ordinary humans can no longer bear him in their wombs."
Thud.
Bu Eun-seol's expression was that of a man struck across the back of the skull.
The Saint had claimed the True Demon's goal was to create a world of evolved humans, molded in his own image.
But the truth was far more sinister.
His power had grown too vast—so vast that no ordinary body could contain him anymore.
And so, he had crafted humans with new vessels.
The 'New Bloodline.'
Through them, he sought to live again.
'So even in this world, there is no true method of immortality.'
One might assume that a primordial demon like him could achieve eternal life without the need for endless reincarnation.
But even he could not defy the laws of nature.
He had been born again and again in human bodies, accumulating knowledge and power with each cycle.
"An opportunity to annihilate the True Demon has come."
At last, Bu Eun-seol understood.
The shocking secret the Saint had tried to convey.
Now that the Chain of Reincarnation was broken—if they killed him here—
The primordial demon, who had existed since time immemorial, could be erased forever.
'Even if the Saint knew this, he wouldn't have been able to say it outright.'
Originally, he was a figure of the Baekri Clan.
But because the True Demon had brainwashed him, he could not act against the demon's will.
Perhaps he had known this truth all along but could not voice it—which was why he had urged him to journey to India.
"I am Hye Myo-eum, once a practitioner at the Mu-hwa Temple."
The woman—Hye Myo-eum—revealed her identity.
"Because I possessed the constitution capable of bearing a New Bloodline, they kidnapped me... After enduring countless experiments, I finally conceived Seong-a."
Her gaze lingered on Seong-a, who was still crying as she looked at her.
"When I tried to escape several times, they bound me in chains and imprisoned me in the depths of the water prison."
As if reliving the pain of those days, Hye Myo-eum bit her lip.
"And to corrupt Seong-a's pure nature, they tortured me. Once she finally met their conditions as a New Bloodline... they sealed her inside a glass coffin, enchanted by the Great Art, and waited for the Great One's descent."
Her expression twisted with guilt.
"I was told that coffin could only be opened with the Great One's blood. But since you opened it... at first, I couldn't bring myself to trust you."
Bu Eun-seol's face went blank.
Hye Myo-eum's lingering distrust—her refusal to speak—
It was because he had claimed to have opened the Crystal Coffin with his own blood.
She must have suspected he was either the True Demon himself or one of his agents.
'Does my blood resemble the True Demon's?'
The realization struck him like a physical blow, but he quickly steadied himself.
'I inherited my mother's blood as well. Of course, the True Demon's blood would be mixed in.'
Shaking off the tangled thoughts, Bu Eun-seol let out a dry scoff.
"If I were the True Demon, why would I go through all this trouble?"
Then, Hye Myo-eum delivered yet another staggering revelation.
"They say... the Great One has lost his memories."
'Lost his memories?'
"The True Demon's martial arts and esoteric techniques are of such a level that calling them the Greatest of All Time would still fall short."
Why would such a Divine Being lose his memories?
"Then it's highly probable he's merely pretending to have lost them."
"That, I cannot say. However, because of it, his attendants have scattered in all directions, searching for the Great One."
At Hye Myo-eum's words, Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed.
So the Three Attendants have split up to find the True Demon... which is why his familiars have been running wild, acting recklessly all this time?
The Neither-Human-Nor-Beast he had encountered earlier not only showed no loyalty to the True Demon but was scheming something independently.
Did all of this happen because the True Demon, having lost his memories, was absent?
"If that's the case, then the creation of the New Bloodline... was a long-standing project, begun even before he lost his memories..."
Bu Eun-seol clutched his forehead and muttered,
"And though they finally succeeded... the True Demon himself has yet to appear."
The Servants of the True Demon had long been secretly conducting research on the New Bloodline deep beneath the Ajanta Caves in India.
To maintain absolute secrecy, they had the Poison Sovereign, residing in the Poison Sovereign Palace, guard the entire Napgi Lake region.
Since it was the True Demon's servants who had given the order,
Even the Iron Elephant King dared not object and obediently relinquished control of the Napgi Lake area.
"That's correct."
Hye Myo-eum spoke again.
"Seong-a not only became part of the New Bloodline... she was to be the first woman to bear the True Demon. That's why she was kept there, having matured into a woman under the influence of a mysterious energy."
She gazed at her daughter with loving eyes.
"But when Your Excellency appeared, Seong-a returned to her original form."
Then she added,
"Since the Great Art was broken by Your Excellency's blood... perhaps Seong-a has become a New Bloodline that reacts only to your blood."
"My blood..."
"Yes."
She turned her head again to look at Bu Eun-seol.
"Only now do I realize it. Your Excellency not only shares the same blood as that Great One... but also possesses the power to oppose him."
Was it because she was nearing death?
Hye Myo-eum sensed not only Bu Eun-seol's inherent goodness,
But also the potential lying dormant within him—and even the blood of the True Demon itself.
"Perhaps it was Your Excellency's power that restored my child to her original state."
Having finished speaking, Hye Myo-eum called out to her beloved daughter.
"Seong-a."
Seong-a, who had been sniffling, ran to her mother and embraced her tightly when called.
"Ah..."
Hye Myo-eum spoke to Bu Eun-seol.
"Please... help this child. So that she may never be used by those wicked beings again."
"...Understood."
Bu Eun-seol swore in a calm voice.
"I swear upon the heavens. Even if it costs me my life, I will never allow such a thing to happen."
He was did not normally make such oaths.
But he knew that only this would put Hye Myo-eum's heart at ease, so he deliberately spoke those words.
"Thank you."
Hye Myo-eum seemed to sense Bu Eun-seol's kindness and smiled faintly.
"With Your Excellency's words, I am at peace. But I must shamelessly ask one more favor."
"Ask anything."
"Destroy all the treasures in this temple... and the Crystal Coffin where Seong-a was kept. So that they may never repeat these atrocities."
The treasures—of course.
Only now did Bu Eun-seol realize that those bizarre treasures belonged to the True Demon—tools for creating the New Bloodline.
"I will destroy them without fail."
"Truly... thank you."
Hye Myo-eum weakly pressed her palms together in prayer.
"This debt... I shall repay in the next life..."
Slowly...
Her words trailed off, and she finally collapsed.
"Madam."
"Forgive me... but I must rest here for a while."
The woman slowly closed her eyes.
Having lost too much blood and with her life force exhausted, she could hold on no longer.
"Seong-a."
The woman looked at her daughter and spread her arms.
"Won't you hold your mother?"
Seong-a beamed and tightly embraced Hye Myo-eum.
"Be happy... my child."
Slowly...
Holding her daughter close, she closed her eyes.
After enduring brutal torture and experiments to give birth to Seong-a, after surviving a life of hardship...
In the end, she could not escape this place and breathed her last.
"Aah?"
Seong-a looked at the lifeless woman and called out loudly to Bu Eun-seol.
As if asking if her mother had fully recovered.
"Yes."
Bu Eun-seol looked at Seong-a with sorrowful eyes and spoke.
"Your mother has fully recovered... and has fallen into a deep sleep."
Seong-a smiled brightly, as if truly relieved.
"Bow to your mother."
"...?"
"Like this."
Suppressing his grief, Bu Eun-seol bowed deeply before the deceased Hye Myo-eum.
Seong-a, though puzzled at first, soon imitated him and bowed as well.
"Your mother needs to rest here for a while. Can you come with me?"
At Bu Eun-seol's words, Seong-a shook her head.
"Ahh."
It seemed she was determined to stay by her mother's side.
Swallowing his grief, Bu Eun-seol exhaled deeply and nodded.
"Alright. For now, let's stay with your mother a little longer."
Kuuung.
Then, an unsettling vibration reverberated from the distant sky.
A repulsive tremor, as if shaking the earth from the far horizon.
It was a chilling, solemn resonance—like the King of Hell unfurling the ledger of sinners from the deepest abyss, delivering a verdict that sealed their fate.
For a moment, Bu Eun-seol felt as though darkness swallowed his vision. Though fleeting, the lingering unease clung to him like the aftermath of a nightmare.
'This—'
When he opened his eyes again, an unbelievable sight unfolded before him.
Hye Myo-eum and Seong-a, whom he had just been speaking with, had vanished.
And in their place, tens of thousands of troops had gathered across the plains.
Then, atop a massive palanquin, reclining lazily as he gazed down at Bu Eun-seol—
A towering middle-aged man, standing ten feet tall, his body made entirely of fat, with a jaw stacked in six layers.
Cloaked in monk's robes, he resembled an incarnation of Maitreya—
Yet his entire body radiated overwhelming energy, and his eyes were slit like razor blades.
"Poison Sovereign."
Poison Sovereign—Garama.
One of the Eight Overlords of India, ruler of Naganasi, the Poison Saint of India.
He had sprayed a strange poison, numbing Bu Eun-seol's senses, and in an instant, snatched away the mother and daughter.
'He didn't come slowly—he was preparing to release the poison.'
Bu Eun-seol gritted his teeth.
The reason the Poison Sovereign had leisurely approached in his palanquin—
Was so he could take Hye Myo-eum and Seong-a without lifting a finger.
By unleashing Demonic Flower Chant, one of the Four Deadly Poisons—
A fusion of lethal venom and the esoteric Sound Arts of India, capable of knocking out even the world's greatest martial artist in an instant.
[Hoh?]
Hearing Bu Eun-seol call his title in Chinese, Garama responded in fluent Chinese as well—
His voice infused with the eerie resonance of Six-Harmony Voice Transmission.
[To think your body hasn't melted under this one's poison... You must be someone of considerable renown in the Central Plains.]
His voice boomed like a temple bell, majestic as if the Buddha himself were speaking.
Tilting his layered chin, the Poison Sovereign muttered with an intrigued expression.
[What brings you to this one's domain, causing such a ruckus?]
But Bu Eun-seol's gaze wasn't fixed on Garama—it swept across the plains, searching desperately.
And finally, in the distance—
He spotted a group hauling two massive coffins.
Likely, they had subdued Hye Myo-eum and Seong-a and sealed them inside those coffins, inscribed with some mysterious power.
"Return Lady Hye and Seong-a."
[Lady Hye?]
Garama tilted his head.
[Ah, you mean that female breeding stock for the New Bloodline?]
Then, he clicked his tongue.
[Her corpse is far too precious. She was the first to successfully bear the New Bloodline, after all.]
A cruel smile twisted his lips.
[She'll be studied for years to come—]
But his words were cut short.
In a flash, Bu Eun-seol had closed the distance, unsheathing Ink Soul Sword and slashing at his throat.
CLANG!
With a clear Sword Resonance, the blade was halted—
By a single massive finger.
Garama had blocked Ink Soul Sword with his bare hand.
Zzzzt—!
Where sword met flesh, a violent whirlwind of energy erupted.
[Oh ho.]
In that single exchange, Garama realized—
Bu Eun-seol was in no way his inferior.
[To reach such heights at your age... Just who are you?]
"The one sending you to hell!"
Swish!
Bu Eun-seol carved a Zhi-shaped arc with violet sword light.
Since his true martial arts were unknown in India anyway—
He unleashed Peerless Thunderbolt, the Ultra Fast Killing Sword—
A technique unrivaled in close-quarters annihilation.
'No—it doesn't matter if he sees through it.'
Crimson light flickered in Bu Eun-seol's pupils.
'I'll just kill them all.'
[Impressive swordsmanship.]
Still seated on his palanquin, Garama flicked his fingers lightly—
Dispelling each strike of Peerless Thunderbolt with eerie precision.
[Truly remarkable. Not just a Poison Saint Body—you've stepped into the threshold of Sage Among Poisons.]
Despite continuously releasing toxins, Bu Eun-seol showed no signs of poisoning.
Garama had discerned—he had entered the realm of poison mastery beyond saints.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Whether Garama was shocked or not—
Bu Eun-seol's swordplay accelerated to an inhuman, blinding speed.
[Hah!]
Finally, a mix of astonishment and a pained groan escaped Garama's lips.
[How is this possible?]
His fingers were condensed with Poison Qi Severing Technique—
Enough to shatter even Divine Weapons upon impact.
Moreover, the poison imbued in his very flesh should corrode martial arts themselves—
Yet even as he frantically maneuvered his ten log-like fingers—
Blocking the sword techniques was pushing him to his limits.