Chapter 69

There was already someone standing at the end of the path.

A man whose appearance was so plain, it was almost unnatural. And yet, the words he spoke were anything but ordinary.

“I thought you'd come alone.”

Ju Soa turned her head slightly to glance at Jeong Muheun.

His expression hadn't changed.

That twisted face, carved by murderous intent—and the unmistakable tremble of surprise he couldn’t quite suppress.

Why was he so shaken?

Why was he seething with killing intent?

She couldn’t make sense of it.

From the swirling vortex of demonic energy, Nameless gazed at Jeong Muheun with unsettling calm and asked:

“So aside from the Heavenly Compass, there’s another way to know exactly when a secret realm from the Primordial Age will appear, is there?”

“...Who are you?”

“Who I am doesn’t matter—not right now. What does matter...”

A faint smile played across Nameless’s lips.

“...is that you, Jeong Muheun, are someone who wants to restore the Millennium Demonic Sect.”

Ju Soa gasped in horror. Jeong Muheun’s brow instantly furrowed.

“...I didn’t expect the last one to enter the realm to reach this point so fast.”

“It’s not that I was fast. You were just slow.”

Ju Soa swallowed hard.

She knew instinctively—this wasn’t her place to speak.

This wasn’t something she should interrupt.

So she trusted her gut—and slowly backed away from Jeong Muheun.

But he didn’t even glance at her.

From her point of view, that seemed like arrogance.

The kind that says: I can kill you anytime I want. Silence you whenever I please.

Nameless gave a short, amused laugh.

“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

“...”

“So we have. You killed everyone else who came into this realm, yet you left her alive until now... Ah. I think I understand. You must have known exactly what this final chamber was.”

“...”

“I’ve been wondering who went to such lengths to hide this realm. Now that question’s been answered, I find myself curious about something else. The Soul-Seizing Black Demon Array—it's a formation designed for one specific person. If you threw her into it, the demonic energy sealed inside would attack her instantly. And in that opening...”

Nameless trailed off, lifting the manual in his hand.

“...you planned to steal this.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I suspected you from the beginning.”

That was no lie.

Why hadn’t Nameless entered the realm the moment it opened?

Was it because his cultivation was lacking? Because it was dangerous? Because he wasn’t sure who else might be there?

No. None of those reasons applied.

In his previous life, the existence of this realm had been buried—erased with surgical precision.

But that required certain preconditions to be in place.

This wasn’t about those conditions. It was about what came before them.

Who had entered the realm?

Who knew of its existence?

To learn that, there was only one viable strategy:

Enter last.

“When the Iron Rhythm Sword Sect chose to retreat, you stayed behind, watching me.”

Of course he did.

No one knew who Nameless really was.

It wasn’t a real name—it was a mask.

Just like how Wang Daesan, an elder of the Iron Rhythm Sword Sect, had sensed something from Nameless, Jeong Muheun—an expert of the Mythic Realm—must have felt it too.

That’s why he hadn’t acted.

Who knew when the realm might seal itself again?

Drawing his sword then and there would’ve been foolish.

More than anything, there would be plenty of chances to kill someone inside the realm. But if he attacked prematurely—right there in the open—would the warriors of the Iron Rhythm Sword Sect really just stand by?

Some would flee. Others would fight.

Even for someone at the Mythic Realm, he couldn’t guarantee the realm wouldn’t close in that brief chaos.

Jeong Muheun had made the right call.

“You must’ve followed me in. You knew the sect was leaving, and you remembered the faces of everyone present. No reason to act before then.”

“...”

“If you’d managed to steal this manual, you would’ve gone straight to the Iron Rhythm Sword Sect after escaping. Or perhaps met with demonic cultivators elsewhere.”

A flicker of killing intent shimmered in Jeong Muheun’s eyes.

And yet Nameless smiled.

He couldn’t help it.

“You don’t even realize what I’ve come to understand today.”

Jeong Muheun.

He may look like a child now, but in the distant future, he becomes a withered old man.

One known to all the world as the Heavenly Ghost God, the vice ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ lord of the Heavenly Demon Palace.

No one knew his true name.

He was only ever called the Heavenly Ghost God.

His appearance had changed over the years—enough that Nameless had almost been fooled.

But now that he looked closely... there was no doubt.

Jeong Muheun’s voice was quiet, but it carried unmistakable threat.

“...Hand over the manual. I’ll let you live.”

Demonic energy surged around him, natural essence coiling at his fingertips, ready to strike at any moment.

Nameless didn’t flinch.

He had another question—one far more important.

The vice lord of the Central Blood Sect...

“Is Yu Cheong still alive?”

****

Yu Cheong.

The Zen Master of the Demonic Path.

In Nameless’s memory, he had always been a strange man.

He was the vice lord of the Central Blood Sect, yet he never meddled in sect affairs. He never overstepped.

He simply carried the weight of his title with quiet dignity—making the authority of the sect all the more imposing by contrast.

That didn’t mean he was absent or negligent.

He handled the practical affairs. Managed day-to-day operations. Always busy.

But his uniqueness wasn’t in what he did.

It was in who he was.

The Blood Sect’s lord, Cheondoja, was the sovereign of the martial world—a man who gripped the sect in an iron fist. And even he had warned Nameless, then the Heaven’s Judgment, to leave Yu Cheong alone. To let him be.

Not that Yu Cheong had ever gotten in his way.

Not once had he interfered.

On the contrary—he’d helped.

But even back then, Nameless had felt something... off.

Something he couldn’t name.

What had Cheondoja truly thought of Yu Cheong?

He hadn’t feared him—that much was clear.

Nameless was certain of it.

Cheondoja had never known fear. He wasn’t built for it.

But he had been wary.

And now, looking back... that wariness made perfect sense.

Even Nameless—then the chief enforcer of the sect—had been left in the dark.

Yu Cheong must’ve had a way to track when the Millennium Demonic Sect’s secret realm would open.

A way to understand its structure and layout.

And with that information, he had acquired the sect’s ancient techniques while deceiving the entire world.

Wasn’t it incredible?

So absurd, Nameless couldn’t help but laugh.

“...You laugh too easily.”

To that, Nameless shook his head.

That was a misunderstanding.

A big one.

“I’m not someone who laughs all that much.”

“Apologies,” Nameless added with a half-smile, “but I really have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t?”

“That’s right. But one thing is obvious—that manual in my hand holds tremendous value. Hand it over. I may spare your life.”

Nameless shook his head once again.

“Still haven’t figured out who’s really desperate here, have you?”

There was one thing Nameless knew for certain—Yu Cheong’s personality.

“If you don’t deliver this manual to Yu Cheong, you’re dead. And yet, you’re still bluffing like you have the upper hand.”

Jeong Muheun remained silent.

“It seems you’re struggling to understand the situation. Let me make it simple for you: I want answers, and you want the manual in my hand. So let’s make a deal.”

“...A deal?”

“Be honest. What’s the point in hiding anything at this stage?”

“...”

“Answer my questions truthfully, and the manual is yours.”

“...You think I trust you? Your face isn’t even real.”

“And?”

“....”

“Still don’t know who holds the advantage here? Forget about my mask—start worrying about the one you’re wearing.”

Jeong Muheun ran a hand through his hair, eyes narrowing as if weighing his options. When he finally spoke, his voice dripped with killing intent.

“What do you want to know?”

“There are a few things. Let’s start with what I asked earlier.”

“....”

“You don’t have to answer. I can just burn the manual.”

At that, Jeong Muheun clenched his jaw—and slowly, reluctantly, began to speak.

“...You were right. I entered this realm because I was ordered to do so. By him.”

“You mean Yu Cheong?”

“Yes.”

“What was your goal inside the realm?”

“...To kill everyone.”

“To wipe out the Iron Rhythm Sword Sect?”

“Not just them. Everyone who entered this realm—and everyone who might investigate their disappearance. All of them were marked for death.”

“You couldn’t do that alone. But Yu Cheong wouldn’t act directly, either. So who’s helping you?”

There was a pause. Jeong Muheun let out a long breath and answered:

“Tianlin.”

Tianlin.

A merchant guild operating across the Central Plains. Known for controlling black markets and wielding influence in the underworld.

They had even once reached their hands into Seolap.

Nameless stared at him for a moment, then calmly asked:

“How did you get information about this realm?”

“...He told me.”

“Did he use a divine item?”

“...I’m not sure of the specifics. But I believe it’s a divine artifact with limited uses.”

That was enough. More than enough. A massive breakthrough.

But there was one more thing.

“What about her?” Nameless asked, nodding toward Ju Soa. “Why did you bring her?”

Jeong Muheun glanced at her and replied without emotion.

“As you said earlier, I intended to throw her into the Soul-Seizing Black Demon Array—to draw attention away.”

“And in that moment, you’d seize the manual.”

“Exactly.”

“So she was never meant to leave this place alive.”

Jeong Muheun answered with a face like ice.

“No outsider with knowledge of this realm can be allowed to live. Not a single exception.”

Ju Soa’s eyes widened in horror.

Her legs nearly buckled—clearly, the shock hit her hard.

Nameless didn’t care.

“Why are you helping Yu Cheong?”

“...To reclaim the life I lost.”

A soft laugh escaped Nameless’s lips.

Living forever in the body of a child—it would be maddening. No matter how strong you are, no one takes you seriously. You’re constantly dismissed. Dragged into one mess after another.

He understood.

Jeong Muheun stared at him, dead serious.

“Now hand it over.”

Nameless kept his word.

He tossed the manual lightly to the side.

But in that instant, the massive flood of demonic energy wrapped around Nameless surged toward the manual—no longer under his control—and began to devour it.

“No—!!”

Jeong Muheun cried out and lunged, desperately snatching up the torn fragments of the manual.

That was his first mistake.

He had stepped into the formation.

And inside this formation, every last shred of demonic energy was under Nameless’s control.

Cultivation level meant nothing here.

The Soul-Seizing Black Demon Array was that kind of formation.

The previous “owner” of the array was the manual itself. But the moment Nameless took possession of it, he became the master of the array.

Jeong Muheun could only stare in stunned disbelief as the manual disintegrated into dust.

Then he lifted his gaze and glared at Nameless.