Chapter 998
Creating a poison that could save lives—a living poison.
This was both the condition for ascending to the true realm of the Sage Among Poisons and the greatest obstacle to breaking past the limits of a Poison Person.
Since the inception of the Poison Technique.
Countless individuals had reached the realm of the Sage Among Poisons.
Yet almost none had ever surpassed that limit—precisely because of this very reason.
But Bu Eun-seol had effortlessly broken through the stage that Poison People who had ascended to the Sage Among Poisons found most difficult.
And he had done so without even realizing it.
Whoooosh—
The black radiance flowing from Bu Eun-seol's body merged with the Poison Essence within him.
Then, the Poison Essence gradually fused with his Original True Qi, reaching a point where the two could no longer be distinguished.
Now, he could neutralize poisons without needing to store them in his body.
He had reached a realm where he could freely generate poison in any space with just a thought—yet...
Because he had no interest in poisons.
The day he would wield this Poison Technique with true mastery belonged to a future still some ways off.
Sssss—
As the poison was injected into them, the pallor of their faces gradually gave way to a flush of color.
Yet despite this, their consciousness did not return.
'There was another problem, wasn't there?'
Come to think of it, the time they had spent being boiled in that steamer had been extremely brief.
So why had they been placed in the steamer at all?
—They seem adequately cooked, so it's about time to activate what's inside their bodies...
Recalling the old man's muttered words as he entered, Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed.
'Something inside their bodies was meant to activate.'
When he placed a hand on their foreheads, they burned like embers.
Their skin showed no change, yet their body temperature was abnormally high.
'At this level, their brains should have been cooked.'
And yet, they remained alive, having lost only their consciousness.
This meant that something absorbed into their bodies had activated upon being placed in the steamer.
'Some kind of Great Art had caused them to retain heat within their bodies, and that heat needed to be purged all at once.'
Zzzzzzz—
Bu Eun-seol summoned the Glacier Thousand Streams Art.
Chiiii—
The moment their body temperatures plummeted.
They began to stir, their expressions sluggish, as if waking from a deep sleep.
"Where... is this...?"
Regaining their senses, they looked down at their own bodies in bewilderment.
They had happily drunk wine and fallen asleep—so why were they naked inside a steamer?
"You've been deceived," Bu Eun-seol said quickly.
"This is the den of vile creatures who boil people alive and drain their Essence Blood. If you wish to live, leave now."
"What kind of—?"
"There's no time for further explanation."
Bu Eun-seol's tone was firm.
"The martial prowess of the warriors guarding this Immortal Valley is extraordinary. With your martial arts, you'll never escape unharmed... So I'll set this place ablaze and draw their attention."
Then he slowly turned away.
"That's all I can do for you. Whether you live or die here depends on your own efforts. I wish you the best of luck."
With those final words, Bu Eun-seol stepped outside without looking back.
BOOM!
Not long after, a deafening explosion shook the earth as if the very ground trembled.
Only then did the warriors realize that Bu Eun-seol's words were entirely true—they had stepped into a tiger's den.
Rumble—
They rushed outside.
"This..."
Their jaws dropped.
The long passageway leading out was already littered with dozens of corpses.
The time they had spent hesitating was no longer than a few deep breaths—
Yet in that span, Bu Eun-seol had already felled this many warriors and was causing chaos outside.
"That man's words seem to be correct," one of them muttered.
"If we don't leave quickly, we'll lose our lives here."
This place not only imparted fragments of the martial arts of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars but also used mysterious orbs to guide them to their own base.
Judging by the scale of its interior and manpower, it clearly belonged to a faction with immense martial power and wealth.
Whether escape was even possible amid this chaos remained unknown.
"I believe that man personally dealt with these warriors to give us a chance to change clothes."
Unbeknownst to them, Bu Eun-seol had already been elevated from "that man" to "that person."
This was because one of the younger men had counted the corpses.
"Fifteen in total."
The group gaped.
Only then did they realize that the warriors lying dead in this passageway—
Were not the ones who had been stationed here...
But those who had been outside, slaughtered and then brought back here.
—In such a short time... How is that possible?
The warriors stared in disbelief.
But now was not the time for astonishment.
"Hurry, change clothes and let's go!"
At someone's shout, the men swiftly stripped the fallen warriors of their garments and began dressing themselves.
CRACKLE! BOOM!
Using the Great Stillness Heat River True Qi, Bu Eun-seol set fire to the halls and key facilities of the Immortal Valley.
And he slaughtered without pause every warrior who rushed out.
Every last one of them was a pawn of the Blood God Heaven Lord of the Blood God Heaven.
Since they had tried to boil innocent warriors alive, he felt not a shred of emotion or pity in killing them.
—Gurgle!
—Gasp!
The more of them he eliminated, the safer the escape of the other warriors would be.
And the fewer innocent lives would be harmed from now on.
'So this is just another base created by the Blood God Heaven.'
The warriors emerging from the halls did not possess particularly impressive martial arts.
Which meant the warriors of the Immortal Valley were not originally from the Blood God Heaven but had been recruited from outside.
Was there perhaps no Master stronger than that old man who had descended underground earlier?
'One thing's certain—the Blood God Heaven Lord isn't here.'
If the Blood God Heaven Lord had been present here?
The moment Bu Eun-seol began rampaging, he would have appeared in an instant and immediately taken action.
—Kill that bastard!
The warriors of Immortal Valley resisted with all their might.
They employed intricate battle formations and bizarre hidden weapons in a desperate attempt to stop the frenzied Bu Eun-seol.
But no matter what methods they used, they couldn't block even a single move of his, collapsing like leaves swept away by an autumn gale.
'Then their headquarters must be elsewhere.'
Despite causing this much chaos, no particularly powerful figures had appeared.
At this rate, he could single-handedly bring down Immortal Valley within half an hour.
'Or perhaps they're stalling for time.'
Come to think of it, none of the figures who could be considered core members of Immortal Valley were in sight.
Even Ga Gyeong, who had delivered the news about the Valley Lord at the banquet hall, was nowhere to be seen.
CRASH!
Ignoring the warriors charging at him, Bu Eun-seol pressed deeper into the heart of Immortal Valley.
'How meticulous.'
The structures in the deepest recesses of Immortal Valley...
were built in such eerily identical forms that it sent chills down his spine.
Nowhere was there a grand or solemn hall befitting the presence of high-ranking members—
only large, square buildings, perfect for constructing secret passages or hideouts, packed tightly together.
CRASH!
Suddenly, Bu Eun-seol unleashed the Qi Ride to the Heavens, leaping high into the sky—
BOOM!
—before landing with terrifying force.
The resulting shockwave rippled outward, activating his Resonance Mind Eye,
allowing him to instantly grasp not only the layout of the buildings but also the hidden underground passages beneath them.
'There.'
Bu Eun-seol's sharp perception locked onto a secret passage beneath a distant square-shaped structure.
CRASH!
In a single motion, he unleashed the Heavenly Hand Empty Wave, obliterating an entire hall in one clean sweep.
Beneath the rubble, a pale shadow that had been using the underground passage to escape was forced into the open.
It was none other than Ga Gyeong, the leader of Socheon Pavilion.
Whoosh. Thud.
Realizing she had been discovered, Ga Gyeong swiftly activated her movement technique, leaping up to the surface.
"What exactly are you doing here?"
Bu Eun-seol's voice was as cold as the glacial winds of an eternal winter.
"Why lure young people using the name of the Three Realms of Purification, only to slaughter them so cruelly?"
With her exceptional martial arts alone, she could have easily enticed warriors by dangling bait.
Given the reputation of Blood God Heaven, she certainly had the power to abduct anyone she wished.
So why go out of her way to invoke the name of an obscure faction like the Three Realms of Purification, unknown to most in the martial world?
"Because a reason like 'selecting successors for a mysterious sect' is far more enticing than simply passing down martial techniques."
Ga Gyeong didn't seem the least bit afraid—instead, she curled her lips into a smirk as she looked at Bu Eun-seol.
"Humans are naturally drawn to the idea of a special destiny. The mere phrase 'chosen one' is enough to ensnare them easily."
She wasn't wrong.
But for just that reason alone...
She wouldn't have exploited the name of the Three Realms of Purification, a secretive faction that had split from the Three Realms.
"Of course, there's another reason."
Ga Gyeong spoke languidly, her expression relaxed.
"How else would rats like you—hidden remnants of the Three Realms of Purification—come crawling out into the open like this?"
Only then did Bu Eun-seol understand everything.
If they continuously committed atrocities under the pretense of selecting successors for the Three Realms of Purification...
Eventually, the hidden successors hidden in the Abyss would have no choice but to emerge and investigate.
In the end, Blood God Heaven had orchestrated all of this...
to lure out the scattered remnants of the Three Realms of Purification.
'She's mistaken me for one of them.'
Keeping his expression blank, Bu Eun-seol pressed further.
"Then why boil people alive?"
"None of your business."
"Didn't I come here just as you wished?"
Bu Eun-seol's voice turned grave.
"I asked why you're doing this."
"A dead man sure is curious about a lot of things."
Drip. Drip.
Suddenly, blood began trickling from her fingertips.
"I should finish you off before the Valley Lord arrives."
Fwoosh.
As Ga Gyeong floated in midair, thick streams of crimson blood cascaded from her fingers like waterfalls.
BOOM! BOOM!
The earth, saturated with her blood, began to tremble rhythmically—
CRACK! CRACK!
—before splitting apart, dense red lines spiderwebbing across the ground like veins.
It was as though the heart of a land-bound spirit had begun beating, forcing thick blood vessels to the surface.
Hssss—
Simultaneously, pitch-black shadows began slowly rising from various points across Immortal Valley.
Their skin was dyed red, their eyes hollow and empty.
They no longer seemed human—more like corpses buried long ago, now stirring back to life.
Soul-Severing Ghosts.
Creatures that had lost their minds but gained strength surpassing human limits—forged into Slaughtering Fiends.
"So you've completed the Soul-Severing Ghosts."
Though these abominations wielded power beyond human comprehension, none had dared create them.
The method had been lost long ago.
It was far safer to manipulate corpses using Burial Arts instead.
Creating a Soul-Severing Ghost from a living person was nearly impossible.
In executing the Demonic Gate Great Method, not even the slightest margin of error was permitted.
If a dead corpse was like a fixed needle's eye, then a living person was akin to a needle's eye in constant motion.
Even if one were fortunate enough to obtain an intact forbidden method and refine it flawlessly, the success rate of a Soul-Severing Ghost was vanishingly slim.
And yet, such beings had been secretly stationed in this Immortal Valley?
"Domination."
Bu Eun-seol's gaze sharpened.
"So, you completed the Soul-Severing Ghosts using that power."
Each of the Divine Heaven Lords 'dominated' something.
The Martial God Heaven Lord dominated space, rendering all enemy attacks utterly null.
The Black Divine Heavenly Lord used the Black Divine to generate ripples through the wingbeats of ravens, dominating the minds of his foes.
And Hyeon-in, who had been slated to become the Destroyer of Gods—
Through the roars of the fake Demonic Calamity Beasts and the power of Word Commands, he dominated the physical bodies of his enemies.
If that was the case, then the Blood God Heaven Lord must surely have been able to freely dominate the Soul-Severing Ghosts through blood.
Ga Gyeong's eyes flashed.
"Call them Blood Spirits, not Soul-Severing Ghosts. Why don't you try facing them?"
With those words—
Drip, drip.
—her entire body dissolved into crimson liquid, vanishing into the ground.
"So, she was the sole figure of Blood God Heaven."
Bu Eun-seol could instinctively tell that this bizarre Art of Spells Ga Gyeong had used stemmed from Soul-Demon Magic Energy.
Step, step.
Meanwhile, the blood-colored shadows had no focus in their eyes, their entire bodies brimming with nothing but a sinister energy.
Blood Spirits.
That was the name given to the newly forged Soul-Severing Ghosts, created through Blood God Heaven's forbidden methods.
Drip, drip.
Step, step—clatter!
The Blood Spirits, who had been staggering forward slowly, suddenly broke into a frenzied charge toward Bu Eun-seol.
Swish!
Bu Eun-seol formed a sword with his finger and immediately slashed through them.
Squelch!
But something astonishing happened.
Their bodies had taken on a liquid-like form, rendering them unharmed no matter how much he cut them.
Drip, drip.
Before he knew it, the Blood Spirits held swords seemingly forged from congealed blood.
Hiss!
As they swung their blades, a strange ripple spread outward.
These blood-forged swords were not meant to slice flesh or sever bones.
They were a type of Dharma Instrument, unleashing an eerie Art of Spells that scrambled the vital energies within the body into chaos.
Bzzzt—!
As the sword winds conjured by the Art of Spells cascaded down, an extremely unpleasant and sinister surge of emotions began to rise in Bu Eun-seol's mind.
'An attack on the spirit and mind.'
Not only had he long since achieved the Spiritual Aperture Breakthrough, but he had also fought against Superlative Martial Experts capable of striking at the spirit and mind.
For an ordinary martial artist, this would have been enough to drive them instantly insane.
But to Bu Eun-seol, it was merely an annoyance—like flies buzzing around his ears.
'If they can't be cut, then I'll blast them apart.'
Without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol unleashed the Fist Demon Initial Manifestation, pouring forth fist energy like a collapsing mountain.
Yet, the moment his fist energy made contact with the Blood Spirits' bodies, it suddenly dissolved into transparent bubbles and scattered.
Soul-Demon Magic Energy.
Forged from the True Demon's power, capable of annihilating the world itself—ordinary martial arts could not destroy it.
'She must hold quite a high position in Blood God Heaven.'
Given the sheer scale of the technique she had displayed, she was clearly no mere underling.
'Then—'
Screeeech!
With a deafening noise, pitch-black sword qi coalesced in Bu Eun-seol's hands, surging as if to pierce the heavens.
He had unleashed the sixth form of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms—Death Without Closing the Eyes—barehanded.
Whoosh!
Even the mountain-crushing fist energy had been reduced to bubbles, but the moment the sword qi of Death Without Closing the Eyes made contact—
The Blood Spirits instantly dissolved into black liquid and scattered.
Hssssss—
But before the sword qi of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms could fully manifest again—
Like a colossal tidal wave, they surged toward Bu Eun-seol in a unified assault.
"Predictable."
Bu Eun-seol didn't even glance at them, instead looking down at his own hands.
The barehanded Death Without Closing the Eyes had a unique follow-up technique.
The moment the sword qi was unleashed, the counterforce would—
—cause a new surge of sword qi to spiral back like the Spiral Secret Technique, striking the enemy.
Flash!
In an instant, a light so dark it seemed to stain the entire world black attacked the Blood Spirits from behind.
The follow-up sword qi of Death Without Closing the Eyes.
The massive sword qi, formed from counterforce, had returned once more.
Sssssk—
At that moment, the charging Blood Spirits dissolved into liquid again, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
—Not a chance.
But then, a resentful voice echoed from beneath the earth.
—Blood Spirits cannot be destroyed.
As it turned out, Ga Gyeong hadn't fled.
She had concealed herself somewhere underground, commanding the Blood Spirits all along.
Hssss—
In that instant, the scattered remnants of the Blood Spirits began reforming into ghostly shapes once more.
'This really does resemble Soul-Demon Magic Energy.'
Until now, even among the Servants of the True Demon, aside from creating massive dragon-like entities—
—he had never seen them wield any Dharma Arts powerful enough to be called "Dharma Energy."
Yet here was Ga Gyeong, the Sohwa Pavilion Lord of the Immortal Valley, wielding a force akin to proper Dharma Arts with startling proficiency.
'Interesting.'
Zing! Zing! Zing!
Bu Eun-seol stretched his hand toward the sky and unleashed an enormous shockwave.
Using the Heavenly Light Endless Art—infused with near-limitless internal energy and the Three Divine Powers—he summoned the Ink Soul Sword, which he had buried at the entrance to Immortal Valley.
—Kaaaaaaah!
Meanwhile, the Blood Spirits charged at him once more like frenzied beasts.
Kurung.
Then, as if thunder rumbled in the distant sky—
Shwaaaaak!
A streak of black lightning shot toward Bu Eun-seol's outstretched hand in the blink of an eye.
It was the Ink Soul Sword.
Shoooing!
Guiding the flying sword with the Sword Control by Mind technique, he sliced through the oncoming Blood Spirits in an instant.
He hadn't manifested Sword Qi.
Yet the Ink Soul Sword, spinning rapidly in midair, shattered the Blood Spirits effortlessly with sheer speed alone.
Clack.
Finally, after cutting down every last Blood Spirit, Bu Eun-seol caught the returning sword, still sheathed.
—What difference does a sword make?
Ga Gyeong's voice, seeping from beneath the earth, dripped with mockery.
—Before Lord of the Valley arrives, I'll turn you into a Blood Spirit under this Pavilion Lord's control.
'Lord of the Valley?'
Now that he thought about it, it was strange.
If this was truly Blood God Heaven's territory, their leader should be the Lord of Heaven.
So why was she waiting for the Lord of the Valley?
'Regardless, I need to dig deeper.'
Bu Eun-seol closed his eyes.
Truthfully, finding and cutting down Ga Gyeong in hiding wouldn't be difficult.
But he would inevitably face this Soul-Demon Magic Energy again in the future.
Now that an opponent he could still handle had appeared, he needed to thoroughly examine—
How to dismantle these creatures.
And the true nature of Soul-Demon Magic Energy itself.
'This is interesting.'
The stronger and more unique his enemies' powers were, the more his competitive spirit and fighting spirit blazed.
As he continued spreading his extrasensory perception, he suddenly—
'Emotions.'
Detected fragments of strange emotions within the Blood Spirits' existence.
Looking deeper, it was like a mass of agony, clogged with filthy impurities.
'So the power to control Soul-Severing Ghosts was emotion.'
The Blood God's power wasn't merely about dominating Soul-Severing Ghosts with blood.
It was about injecting new emotions into their flesh, using them as fuel to drive them against enemies.
'Then—'
To completely annihilate these endlessly regenerating Blood Spirits—
He had to purge the impure emotions embedded in their bodies.
'With the Bloody Tears Seven Forms...'
Zzzzzzt.
Purple flames began flickering along the Ink Soul Sword.
'Fuse the Heavenly Light Endless Art, centered on Thunder Essence Divine Qi.'
The Bloody Tears Seven Forms was, at its core, a fusion technique.
Bu Eun-seol intended to combine it with a new power to cut them down once and for all.
Kiiii!
As the black Sword Qi merged with violet lightning, a sudden pain—as if his skull had split in two—flared through him.
To describe it in terms of emotions—
The Bloody Tears Seven Forms embodied death-like desolation and silence.
In contrast, Thunder Essence Divine Qi was closer to pure rage.
Had it been Water Essence Divine Qi—calm and composed—it might have been different. But Thunder Essence Divine Qi and the Bloody Tears Seven Forms were fundamentally incompatible.
And though he focused on Thunder Essence Divine Qi, wasn't this effectively a fusion of the Three Divine Powers?
'But I have to.'
The Blood God's power, which moved the Blood Spirits—
Since it originated from emotion, only a pure and refined energy like Thunder Essence Divine Qi could incinerate the filthy remnants of those emotions.
Kwaaang!
Meanwhile, the Blood Spirits lunged at Bu Eun-seol.
Since the Bloody Tears Seven Forms and Heavenly Light Endless Art hadn't fully fused, neither Sword Qi nor Thunder Essence Divine Qi could manifest.
The Ink Soul Sword had reverted to little more than a solid rod.
Bang! Pshh! Shwaak!
Yet he could still deal with the liquid-like Blood Spirits—
Because whenever the transformed sword touched them, their bodies solidified in response.
Kururur.
But the repelled Blood Spirits rose again.
Even when shattered or liquefied, they were immortal. As long as Soul-Demon Magic Energy flowed into them, they would endlessly regenerate.
Twitch, twitch.
Then, the staggering movements of the Blood Spirits caught his eye.
They weren't purely magical constructs—they were living people.
Unable to feel pain or think under Soul-Demon Magic Energy's influence.
Forced to rise and attack like puppets under Ga Gyeong's command.
Trapped in a state where they could neither die nor live, exploited endlessly.
'No wonder their emotions were so wretched and impure.'
Bu Eun-seol felt sorrow and pity.
The reason they kept attacking—
Wasn't to kill him.
It was a desperate plea for their suffering to end, to finally find rest.
Kwaaang.
At that moment, a surge of violet Sword Qi—a mix of black and purple—erupted from the Ink Soul Sword.
The moment boundless compassion for enemies he was meant to slaughter filled him—
The Thunder Essence Divine Qi within the Heavenly Light Endless Art finally fused with the Sword Qi of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
Kiiiiii!
The wailing resonance of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms was like the lament of the Death God.
'Emotion.'
If he had to describe the Blade Essence of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms—which brought death to all—in a single word—
It was 'profound sorrow.'
Loss, despair, agony, hopelessness...
Bu Jan-yang had sublimated the deepest grief a human could feel into martial doctrine.
And without realizing it, Bu Eun-seol too—
Wandering the ruthless Martial World, treading bloodstained paths—
Had gradually assimilated into the depths of that emotion.
Whoooosh.
Bu Eun-seol's pupils burned amber like the eyes of a furious tiger, while an endless aura of desolation radiated from his entire body.
Though he remained unaware—
In this moment, his appearance...
Uncannily resembled Bu Jan-yang in his youth, wielding the Bloody Tears Seven Forms.