As Nameless finished speaking, the demonic energy erupting from the ancient relics surged with newfound intensity. Wreathed in violet light from the Demon-Eye Stones, the black aura swallowed the entire chamber in a dark, majestic spectacle.

A flicker of panic crossed the faces of the two warriors caught in the webbed net. The worn-out weapons they had dismissed as junk were now radiating the overwhelming might of the Primordial Age—resurrected under Nameless’s command.

“…You… what are you?” one of them managed to ask, voice tight with disbelief.

Nameless smirked faintly.

“Is that really what you want to know on the brink of death?”

He’d never intended to answer—even if they had asked earlier.

“I thought you might at least break through two more chambers. I didn’t expect you to be this pathetic.”

The cold indifference in his voice stoked a burning fury within them.

Even if they were to die, consumed by demonic energy in the next breath, they wanted nothing more than to rip that smug expression from his face.

Their eyes met—and in an instant, both warriors launched themselves forward.

The power erupting from their bodies was enough to signal a mutual destruction. It was the full force of a martial artist at the level of Three Flowers Gathering Purity, bolstered even further by innate spiritual essence. The very ground cratered beneath their feet as explosive force tore through the chamber—

—but their attacks never even reached him.

In truth, they never could have.

Nameless stirred the relics with a single flick of his wrist.

Instantly, the demonic energy surrounding him surged like a tidal wave, crashing down upon the two assailants.

They swung their swords, hurled their fists, tried everything they knew—but it was all in vain.

This realm—this secret realm—was no mere illusion of the demonic path. It wasn’t of Heaven and Earth rank. It was of the Martial God class.

And the energy pouring from such a realm wasn’t ordinary.

The altar wasn’t there by accident. Nor were the relics.

Only those who understood their value could pass through. Only those who could recognize, uphold, and wield that value would be granted a chance to survive.

The two warriors’ bodies were engulfed in seconds. They began to convulse, blood spewing from their mouths as every vein in their bodies writhed in agony.

Their bones twisted and shattered. The blood vessels in their eyes exploded, and dark blood jetted from all seven orifices like geysers.

Nameless stood above them in silence.

“Farewell,” he said softly.

Then he turned and walked away without another word.

By the time he stepped into the next chamber, Baek Wontak and Gu Pyeong were gone—utterly annihilated, not a trace of ash remaining. Even the demonic aura that had consumed the room had vanished completely, as if it had never been.

Only what had always been here remained.

Dozens of altars lined the chamber, brimming with relics.

And one empty altar.

That was all.

It was unmistakable now.

Nameless was the one farthest ahead.

****

This was the final gate. The third gate he had passed just before this hadn’t been much.

Just a straight hallway riddled with hidden blades and arrows—though honestly, the second gate had been far more threatening.

And now, at last, the final trial awaited.

As the massive stone door slowly opened before him, Nameless stepped forward.

Between the gaps of the long row of Demon-Eye Stones, black demonic energy spiraled like a vortex. At the very center of the chamber, a formation had been etched into the floor—one that writhed and pulsed as if alive.

Nameless stared down at it in silence, digging into the recesses of his memory.

“…The Soul-Seizing Black Demon Array.”

He had seen countless formations and martial arts in his life as the former Heaven’s Judgment of the Central Blood Sect.

This one was ancient—a relic of the Primordial Age, created by the demon lords of the Millennium Demonic Sect for their own cultivation.

At its center, it drew in the ambient energy of the world, transmuting it into demonic force. That energy would then be compressed and sealed within the formation, driving it to the highest threshold it could contain.

It served two purposes—cultivation, yes. But also: complete exclusion of outsiders.

No martial artist without resistance to demonic energy could hope to survive it.

But this array had been modified—engineered to target a single individual.

Whatever was sealed here—it was no ordinary thing.

Nameless glanced around.

The range of the formation was about ten jang in radius. Beyond that, there was nothing else in the room that posed a threat.

He stepped closer.

As if sensing his presence, the outer rim of the formation trembled with a low, sinister hum.

Tsk.

Nameless clicked his tongue and scratched the back of his head.

It would be a lie to say he expected to come out unscathed.

But accepting the demonic energy into his body? That wasn’t an option.

He gave the weapon in his hand a slight shake, testing its reaction—but the tightly bound aura of the formation didn’t even flinch.

He tucked the nearly-crumbling weapon back into his robe and took a deep breath.

What was demonic energy, truly?

It was the raw condensation of human desire and obsession—twisted into form.

The more you tried to suppress it, the stronger it became. It devoured reason and eroded nature. But in terms of sheer destructive force, nothing matched it.

And that, in itself, made it dangerously beautiful.

The blood energy used by the Central Blood Sect shared the same nature—nearly indistinguishable from demonic energy.

Through countless trials, Nameless had come to understand one absolute truth.

What is good? What is evil?

The distinction is an illusion.

Demonic energy is nothing more than a mirage. It becomes real only because we fear it—because we resist.

The moment you try to fight it, you bind yourself in the chains of causality. But if you accept it for what it is, you are set free.

This world is filled with contradictions.

What is liberation?

Freedom from attachment.

And attachment?

Suffering.

To be bound is to build a prison for yourself.

Nameless lived by what he had come to understand. By what he had come to believe.

Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped into the heart of the Soul-Seizing Black Demon Array.

The demonic energy swallowed him whole.

But it didn’t burn his flesh. It didn’t strike him down.

It simply took him in.

And the moment he reached the center, his entire body froze.

Centuries-old demonic energy, long sealed away, surged through him—ripping into his flesh, bursting through bone, clawing at his soul.

The pain was excruciating. His skin felt as if it were being torn apart. His joints, as if crushed to powder.

The formation tried to tear his body to shreds.

And still, Nameless smiled.

He offered no resistance.

He simply accepted it all.

Then, just as the demonic energy had been on the verge of tearing him apart, its nature abruptly changed.

Nameless’s mind was already complete.

No matter how much pain wracked his body, he did not waver.

It was because he felt no fear toward the demonic energy that its purest essence had begun to settle into his bloodstream.

Demonic energy is not something to be resisted.

It is something to be accepted.

That is the answer.

Standing at the heart of the formation, wrapped in swirling darkness, Nameless lowered his gaze.

There, resting at his feet, was a single manual.

He picked it up and read the bold title etched across the cover aloud:

“Demonic Blood Heavenly Gang Incantation.”

He swore—he had never heard that name in his entire life.

Without hesitation, he flipped it open.

As he read the first page, his brow furrowed. By the second page, then the third—

Nameless was stunned.

“…Hah…”

He swore—this was the most shocked he had been in ages.

This wasn’t just a martial manual.

It was a cultivation art designed to completely rebirth its user into a true demon—a type of martial transformation technique.

He began to read the incantation lines:

Demonic Blood Pierces Heaven, Heart Becomes Steel.

The demonic blood connects to the heavens, and the heart is hardened.

Hundred Evils Cannot Invade, Bloodline Grows Strong.

No wickedness may penetrate it, and the veins grow resilient.

Demonic Energy Enters, Body Becomes One with Heaven and Earth.

The demonic force becomes the world itself within the body.

Ten Thousand Laws Powerless, No Harm Shall Ever Come.

Not even all the ways of the world can inflict a wound.

He ran a hand down his face.

He needed to say it again—to himself, if nothing else.

Nameless was shaken enough that his Transforming Body Disguise Technique nearly unraveled on its own.

Now he understood.

Why this realm had been so thoroughly hidden.

Why everyone who had entered before had been silenced forever.

What was the most valuable martial art of the Millennium Demonic Sect in the Primordial Age?

The Heavenly Demon’s techniques.

The Central Blood Sect had many manuals inherited from the Millennium Demonic Sect, but not a single one had ever belonged to the Heavenly Demon.

Even at the moment of his death, Nameless had never found one.

No—that wasn’t true.

It had been found.

But it had never been revealed.

The Demonic Blood Heavenly Gang Incantation.

This was the Heavenly Demon’s martial art.

A supreme cultivation method that strengthened the blood vessels using demonic energy, transforming the veins into vessels capable of enduring any kind of demonic force. The blood itself became a conduit of power, immune to all external influence—and more than that, capable of ruling over all other demonic energies.

Even a breath of air could be transmuted into demonic force.

Without this technique, the Heavenly Demon could not have existed.

It was the core of the core.

Nameless quietly closed the manual.

He now had a very good idea of who had gone to such lengths to conceal this secret realm.

Ju Soa suddenly felt something strange.

It wasn’t something she could explain. It was pure instinct.

Even if this was a demonic realm, she still remembered most of the martial artists who had entered it.

Among them had been masters at the level of Three Flowers Gathering Purity, Five Banners Form, and even Harmonization Stage.

There had been many.

Even if the first gate unleashed a fog of demonic energy, someone at the level of Three Flowers Gathering Purity should have been able to push through. They might have taken some internal damage, but they wouldn’t have died.

The second gate had been trickier. But even that could be avoided. If one simply ignored the altar and charged ahead, they could dodge the demonic energy net that fell from the ceiling and enter the next chamber.

The third gate was even simpler.

A few patches of demonic mist covered the floor, and arrows, daggers, and various weapons had been triggered from the sides and front—but again, for someone at Five Banners Form, it was all manageable.

Yes, many of the martial artists who had entered might have lingered, trying to assess the situation—

—but still.

This didn’t make sense.

Why?

Why was there not a single person in sight?

And why… was the hem of Jeong Muheun’s robe soaked ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) with blood?

Now that she thought about it, it had been strange how he had immediately killed Gong Myeongu and Sacheon-u the moment he saw them.

Could it be…

In that short window of time, had he swept through the first chamber’s entire labyrinth and slaughtered everyone?

She didn’t know exactly when Jeong Muheun had entered—but if he had even half an hour, it would have been more than enough to kill dozens.

No… not even half an hour.

Just half of that would suffice.

He was a Mythic Realm master.

But why?

Why go that far?

Why had Jeong Muheun come to this secret realm in the first place?

He moved like someone who already knew what was hidden here.

“…Young Lady?”

“Ah… yes?”

Jeong Muheun, walking just ahead of her, smiled gently.

“This is the final chamber. You may want to prepare yourself.”

“Yes… Uncle.”

Jeong Muheun was her father’s old friend—and the sole Guardian of the Killing Sword Sect.

But the moment they passed through the opened stone gate…

Ju Soa saw it.

A face she had never seen before.

Twisted with killing intent.

Jeong Muheun’s face.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep