Chapter 1245

"How could I make the same mistake again?"

Watching Neung Gyeong's Crystal Divine Energy spread in every direction, the One-Eyed Immortal muttered under her breath.

She bitterly regretted that she had been unable to die alongside Bu Zhanyang.

But how could she bear to savor the pain of surviving alone yet again?

Vwoom, vwoom, vwoom.

As though she had made up her mind, the One-Eyed Immortal drew up her internal energy, and a mysterious power began spreading from her body as well.

Without the slightest hesitation, she too intended to unleash everything she had, employing a secret art of mutual destruction.

"What a pointless effort."

Tap Mokgeuk saw through the two women's intentions and immediately swept both hands outward, spreading the poisonous energy of the Myriad Poisons World-Eroding Man in every direction.

"Do you not know that this palace created the very concept of mutual destruction?"

Vwooong.

In an instant, the grotesque and bizarre poison waves of the Myriad Poisons World-Eroding Man began spreading as millions of black flames.

Methods of mutual destruction might appear diverse, but in the end, they all involved detonating the power within one's body to perish along with the enemy.

Tap Mokgeuk used the power of the Sentient Poison Spirit, which contained both Soul Demon Dharma Energy and the Myriad Poisons World-Eroding Man.

He suppressed their bodies' reactions to the utmost, preventing them from detonating their tremendous power at all.

Thump.

As a result, the energies Neung Gyeong and the One-Eyed Immortal had raised to their limits instantly flowed backward.

The two women staggered and coughed up fresh blood at the same time.

The Crystal Divine Energy spreading from Neung Gyeong's body vanished, leaving only turbid energy leaking from her.

The One-Eyed Immortal was likewise seized by twisting agony throughout her entire body, while the Grand Expansion Technique she had tried to unleash with all her strength scattered like a mirage.

Before such an overwhelming disparity in power, even a final measure like mutual destruction came to nothing.

"This is rather nice."

Tap Mokgeuk alternated his gaze between Neung Gyeong and the One-Eyed Immortal's elegant figures and swallowed hungrily.

"Not once have I indulged in women while cultivating the Evil Poison Demon Scripture. But the two of you..."

Just as he was about to utter an unspeakably obscene remark,

Thooooom!

The heavens suddenly roared, and a pitch-black meteor tore across the distant sky.

Shwaaak!

Dazzling light poured through the rift it left behind.

Boom!

At the same time, the ground split apart with a deafening explosion.

Rumble!

A tremendous shockwave spread in every direction, hurling the poison masters away and even driving back the poisonous energy surrounding the Fire Soul Land.

Whoooosh.

The wind blew, and the dust settled, revealing a single person standing there.

It was Bu Eunseol.

Crackle, crackle.

Amber flames leaped from the eyes visible between the strands of his wind-tossed hair.

At the sight of the Fire Soul Land's wretched destruction, his murderous intent soared to the extreme.

Looking exactly like Bu Zhanyang in his youth, he poured out terrifying killing intent.

"How peculiar."

Recognizing Bu Eunseol, Tap Mokgeuk shook his head.

"They prophesied that the Avici Demon Ancestor would turn you into a headless ghost... Were the tales of his peerless wisdom, which could even foresee the future, false?"

Bu Eunseol's eyes flashed.

Just as expected, Chu So had not only maintained a close alliance with the Poison Spirit Demonic Lord and the Avici Demon Ancestor.

He had also been closely monitoring Bu Eunseol's circumstances all along.

"In the end, this will only be over once I cut down Chu So and the Poison Spirit Demonic Lord."

"The brat is overflowing with confidence."

Tap Mokgeuk roared with laughter.

"Even if your abilities equal Bu Zhanyang's in his prime, it is useless now."

Swoooosh.

He absorbed the Myriad Poisons World-Eroding Man, created from Soul Demon Dharma Energy and human poison masters, into his own body.

"Haaaa."

Exhaling black mist, Tap Mokgeuk's body transformed into a pitch-black demon-god idol.

Poison Transformation True Body, Poison Form, No Self.

He had manifested Human Poison, the True Demon Palace's greatest poison art and realm, surpassing even the Poison Saint.

"I hear you possess a secret for eliminating Soul Demon Dharma Energy."

Black mist rising from him, Tap Mokgeuk continued.

"You may be able to stop Soul Demon Dharma Energy, but you cannot stop Human Poison."

In other words, the Empress Dowager and the Heavenly Mechanism Star had relentlessly tracked Bu Eunseol's movements.

They had investigated even how he defeated his enemies and what abilities he possessed.

"Not even if you have reached the realm of the Poison Saint!"

Paaat!

Hundreds of black strands slowly extended from Tap Mokgeuk's hands, gradually dyeing even the earth black.

Human Poison was something not even the power of the Poison Saint could stop.

It was the ultimate poison art and a realm that transcended every attainment in poison the martial world had accumulated.

Sizzle.

Though the poison had yet to touch him, pale smoke rose from Bu Eunseol's entire body.

Upon entering the realm of Human Poison, one could turn the space itself within a certain area into poison.

Thus, even if no poison entered the body, poisoning could not be avoided.

Swoooosh.

An acrid odor spread, and the very space in which Bu Eunseol stood began to melt.

Ziiiing.

At that moment, the colors of the scenery in every direction faded, and the poisons encroaching upon space disappeared.

The Void Extreme Realm closely resembled Harmony with Nature and constantly sought to preserve the original state of all things.

As Human Poison and Soul Demon Dharma Energy spread from Tap Mokgeuk's body, the Realm of Destruction and Extinction activated on its own.

Pat, pat!

Human Poison's power to dominate space vanished, but the extending black strands did not.

Human Poison was itself a pure poison that existed in nature.

Tap Mokgeuk had deliberately deployed Soul Demon Dharma Energy and Human Poison together, inducing Bu Eunseol to use the power of the Void Extreme Realm.

This placed Bu Eunseol at a disadvantage in which he could only be poisoned more easily.

Srrrk.

Before he knew it, lines resembling black blood vessels covered his entire body.

Human Poison had ultimately infiltrated him and was causing his life force to escape his body.

Trickle.

As the poison flowed, the lines grew clearer and climbed along his forearms and neck.

Craaack.

The poison spread over one side of his face, turning it into something resembling a statue of black marble.

Sizzle.

The Void Extreme Realm's annihilation of power was not a weakness.

Because it was a realm that preserved an utterly natural state, it could prevent poison from seeping into him even without his deliberately raising internal energy or resisting.

However, the Human Poison pouring into him was stronger than the force seeking to restore him.

In the end, Bu Eunseol was gradually being poisoned.

"Kwahahaha!"

Watching Bu Eunseol turn black without even resisting, Tap Mokgeuk burst into wild laughter.

"You strutted about as though you were something extraordinary, yet it seems you will merely add one more corpse to the pile."

Clack.

At that moment, the darkening Bu Eunseol slowly drew the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.

Shhing.

With a sound like a dragon's cry, the shape of the dark iron sword emerged, and he slowly lowered his stance.

"Are you trying to imitate Bu Zhanyang?"

His face filled with ridicule, Tap Mokgeuk's eyes gleamed.

"Even if that man returned from the dead, he could not withstand Human Poison!"

Trickle.

With the sound of flowing water, dozens of strands of Human Poison burrowed into Bu Eunseol's body and were on the verge of reaching his organs.

Claaamp.

The Silent Tiger Soul Sword slowly began tracing a circle through the air.

Then something unbelievable occurred before Tap Mokgeuk's very eyes.

Bu Eunseol had done nothing more than draw a circle through empty space, yet the Human Poison pouring toward him was disappearing.

"How can this be?"

Tap Mokgeuk's eyes widened in disbelief.

There was no means whatsoever of preventing Human Poison from poisoning its target. The result would be the same even for a Poison Saint.

Then how could merely drawing a circular shape through empty space accomplish such a thing?

"Human Poison is, as I thought..."

Bu Eunseol murmured softly.

"Stagnation."

In the past, the One-Eyed Immortal had told him how his grandfather had driven away the Poison Spirit Demonic Lord.

She had said only that his grandfather drew a circle through the air with his great blade.

Yet with that alone, the poison of the Poison Spirit Demonic Lord, who could be called the greatest poison master under heaven and had dominated a space dozens of jang wide, vanished in an instant.

―'To understand the properties of evil poison and Human Poison, I must allow myself to be poisoned.'

In truth, Bu Eunseol could have avoided being poisoned by surrounding himself with Harmony from the moment he arrived at the Fire Soul Land.

However, he had deliberately refrained from blocking the poison in preparation for the battles ahead.

―'Because I will soon have to face the Poison Spirit Demonic Lord.'

Though the man had fled in defeat without being able to block even one strike from his grandfather, Bu Eunseol regarded the Poison Spirit Demonic Lord highly.

Seen from another perspective, he was a man who had preserved his life beneath the blade of Bu Eunseol's grandfather at the height of his power.

―'This clash will soon draw the Poison Spirit Demonic Lord out of seclusion.'

To face that progenitor of poison, Bu Eunseol needed to experience the Human Poison used by his subordinate and understand its properties.

And thanks to Tap Mokgeuk, he had realized what method his grandfather used.

'Human Poison is the ultimate form of stagnation.'

Human Poison arrested every energy within a person and obstructed circulation, the very essence of life.

In other words, it severed and stopped all energy and possessed the power to encroach upon the energy of life.

That was why even a Poison Saint could not stop Human Poison.

'The way to counter Human Poison is not to block or reject it, but to create perfect circulation.'

Just as blood circulated endlessly through the human body around the heart, his grandfather had broken the power of stagnation through the circle, the shape of perfect circulation.

'If I had not grasped the profound principles of the Silent Tiger Soul Eclipse while facing that elder who belonged to the Eighteen Souls of Light...'

Cold sweat ran down Bu Eunseol's back.

The ultimate profound principle of the Silent Tiger Soul Eclipse was likewise the circulation of life.

That was why he could use the method Bu Zhanyang once employed.

By melting the property of stagnation into the flow of circulation, he could annihilate the power of stagnation.

Whoooosh!

The Silent Tiger Soul Sword was now spinning rapidly.

Unlike Bu Zhanyang, Bu Eunseol could not sustain the profound principle of circulation for long with a single blade strike.

Thus, he was maintaining that power by rotating his sword.

'Grandfather was invincible not because he relied on the destructive might of the Seven Blood Tear Forms... but because he first understood the nature of his enemies.'

Bu Eunseol felt proud.

He had created a new martial realm called the Void Extreme Realm.

Yet he had worried whether that alone would truly allow him to catch up to the path his grandfather walked.

Now, however, he could be certain.

The path he had walked was not wrong.

Before long, the day would come when he could stand shoulder to shoulder with his grandfather.

"Not a chance!"

Sensing his life was in danger, Tap Mokgeuk struck the ground with all his strength.

Boooom!

Realizing instinctively that he could not defeat Bu Eunseol by any means, he intended to annihilate every living thing here by detonating the power of Human Poison and the Myriad Poisons World-Eroding Man.

Paaat!

Hundreds, then thousands, of black shadows began spreading beyond the Fire Soul Land.

When an expert of the True Demon Palace, which had created the concept of mutual destruction, employed such a profound secret, its power and momentum were indeed extraordinary.

The surrounding blades of grass rose as razor-sharp poison, while the ground beneath his feet turned swamp-like and spewed poisonous energy.

Even stones and fragments of wood began floating like hidden weapons.

"You cannot break this!"

This method turned all the surrounding terrain and objects into poison before unleashing them.

Because it was not a supernatural power, not even the Void Extreme Realm could stop it.

Ziiiing.

A circular light formed around Tap Mokgeuk, and hundreds, then thousands, of fragments rose into the air.

Once those fragments spread outward... every living thing in the Fire Soul Land would be killed.

"Heh heh heh."

Just as Tap Mokgeuk formed a sinister smile and prepared to detonate his Poison Essence,

Clamp.

Bu Eunseol slowly extended one finger.

"Between heaven and earth, this body alone exists in solitude..."

A ray of light poured from his fingertip.

At the same time, every poisonous fragment floating around Tap Mokgeuk began to burst apart.

Heaven and Earth Only I.

Bu Eunseol had unleashed Bukgung Ryeong's Finger Bullet Shot, which had reached the pinnacle of the bullet and ruled a single instant.

Shaaaa.

When the glow faded, the ground around Tap Mokgeuk was riddled with hundreds, then thousands, of perfectly round holes, as though countless falling stars had plunged vertically into it.

Piercing even time and space with the single profound principle of the bullet, the attack had penetrated everything within the Poison Essence in one stroke just before it detonated.

"What..."

Tap Mokgeuk's mouth fell open in disbelief.

As a man from the True Demon Palace, he was versed in every profound principle of martial arts scattered throughout the martial world.

Yet in that brief instant, Bu Eunseol had pierced hundreds, then thousands, of fragments made from the Myriad Poisons World-Eroding Man.

He had joined space together and pierced them in a single stroke, as though threading one bead.

No such profound principle of martial arts had ever appeared in the present martial world.

"What is it?"

Tap Mokgeuk shouted without realizing it.

"What in the world is this?"

"Heaven and Earth Only I."

Bu Eunseol answered in a low voice.

"A Finger Bullet Shot that has reached the pinnacle of the Inner Bullet Technique."

"The Bullet King?"

As though finally realizing something, Tap Mokgeuk glared at Bu Eunseol and spoke in a low voice.

"So you were the Martial Soul Society Leader."

Pshhhh.

At that moment, a faint fracture formed between his brows and spread across his entire skull.

His head had been the last thing pierced by Heaven and Earth Only I.

"You too will soon become like Bu Zhanyang."

Pshhhh.

His head shattered, and he died instantly.

'They already suspect me.'

The Martial Soul Society Leader remained a mysterious figure, and the only known point of contact was the Bullet King, Bukgung Ryeong.

Yet the moment Bu Eunseol used martial arts of the bullet, Tap Mokgeuk immediately deduced that he was the Martial Soul Society Leader.

In other words, they merely lacked evidence and thus had no certainty.

The Heavenly Mechanism Star and the forces cooperating with him already suspected a connection between Bu Eunseol and the Martial Soul Society Leader.

―'You too will soon become like Bu Zhanyang.'

His grandfather had been unrivaled and had quietly left the martial world after choosing the profession of corpse examiner for himself.

Yet Tap Mokgeuk had spat out a curse as though something had gone wrong with him.

'There is no need to concern myself with the words of such a man.'

Having finished his thoughts, Bu Eunseol called out,

"Palace Master. Immortal."

He approached Neung Gyeong and the One-Eyed Immortal and bowed respectfully.

"I arrived far too late."

The two women formed faint smiles.

His confident and dignified bearing made it seem as though Bu Zhanyang in his youth had returned to life.

"Palace Master, if you knew in advance that something had happened in the Fire Soul Land, why did you not tell me?"

Neung Gyeong shook her head at Bu Eunseol's question.

"This was a matter between her and me. How could I burden you yet again?"

The One-Eyed Immortal added,

"If something happened to you, I would have no face to meet my brother in the afterlife."

Bu Eunseol answered firmly.

"Your nephew is already cultivating strength to face them."

"Them? You mean the True Demon Palace?"

"All of them."

With a sigh, he told them about the Baekri Family and the True Demon, as well as the Heavenly Mechanism Star and the United Heart Society.

The two women looked at each other in astonishment.

How could they have imagined that this young man was fighting alone while shouldering the safety of the Central Plains martial world?

"I understand."

Neung Gyeong nodded.

"If such forces appear in the future, I will inform you before anyone else."

But Bu Eunseol apparently found that unreliable, for he said,

"From now on, experts of my pavilion will remain stationed in the Fire Soul Land."

Then, looking from the One-Eyed Immortal to Neung Gyeong, he continued,

"An intelligence branch of my hall will also be established near the Divine Water Palace."

This was not a request for permission, but a notification.

He could no longer allow the two women to be placed in danger.

Even if he had to station troops by force, he intended to ensure that nothing like this ever happened again.

"Then I shall send disciples of my palace to the Fire Soul Land as well."

Neung Gyeong turned to the One-Eyed Immortal.

"If we combine my palace's Water God Martial Arts with the Fire Soul Land's Grand Expansion Technique, it will display even greater power."

The One-Eyed Immortal nodded as well.

"Then I should give the disciples of the Divine Water Palace some of the spirit herbs that grow here. That should make it somewhat easier for them to handle Water God Energy."

The two women finally let go of decades of resentment and came to understand each other from the heart.

Perhaps that was because, through Bu Eunseol, they had felt that Bu Zhanyang had truly loved them both.

"Then I will take my leave."

Watching them with satisfaction, Bu Eunseol bowed.

Had his grandfather been here, the two of them would surely have lived together in harmony like good sisters.

'Now it is my turn to protect them.'

The forces Tap Mokgeuk brought had been destroyed.

Before long, the Poison Spirit Demonic Lord would emerge from seclusion and come to strike at Bu Eunseol. He needed to prepare.

"Wait."

At that moment, the One-Eyed Immortal spoke in a low voice.

"There is something I must tell you."

She glanced at Neung Gyeong and gave a slight nod, then beckoned to Bu Eunseol.

"Follow me for a moment."

Bu Eunseol looked puzzled, but soon followed the One-Eyed Immortal into her quarters.

As though reflecting her plain and unadorned character, the interior was clean and held few furnishings, resembling the meditation room of an eminent monk.

"Everything that has happened..."

After serving Bu Eunseol tea, the One-Eyed Immortal uttered words that were shocking beyond measure.

"...happened because of the Buddha Venerable."