Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Heart Demon
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Where do the roots of Central Plains martial arts lie?
While there are those with differing opinions, many point to Patriarch Damo.
The theory goes that Patriarch Damo created the Muscle Alteration Scripture and the Marrow Cleansing Scripture, which became the foundation of Central Plains martial arts.
Isn't there even a saying that "All the world's martial arts come from Shaolin"?
The Shaolin Temple's influence on the martial world was that profound.
So, who was the most renowned figure at the Shaolin Temple in those days?
Naturally, it was the Shaolin Temple Abbot, Jeonghae Abbot.
Next came a few elder monks active externally, and the Four Great Vajras also enjoyed considerable fame.
But where there is light, there is shadow.
Inevitably, there were also monks at the Shaolin Temple who received no attention at all.
The Pill Refining Pavilion Leader held such a position.
His master had said this upon taking the young Pill Refining Pavilion Leader as a disciple.
"You have been entrusted with a most important duty, so you must always take pride in it."
Creating and managing the Great Returning Pills and Small Returning Pills was, of course, important.
Some might find great satisfaction in fulfilling their role as Pill Refining Pavilion Leader.
However, those who dreamed of achieving great feats and leaving their name in history would not welcome the position.
Do it well, and you break even; do it poorly, and it becomes a massive stain.
The current Pill Refining Pavilion Leader was just such a man.
He had followed his training as pavilion leader, refining Great Returning Pills and Small Returning Pills, yet he felt no pride in his work at all.
'I want to leave my name behind too.'
He knew it was a dream hard to achieve without talent.
From the start, his assignment to the Pill Refining Pavilion had been arbitrary on the Shaolin Temple's part.
He had thought he would end his days as an unremarkable Shaolin monk.
But then.
"No, you can't find the Fire Spirit Herb?"
A major variable arose in the final stage of refining the Great Returning Pills.
Far from leaving his name, he faced the crisis of being branded a failure for the first time in Great Returning Pill refinement.
He desperately searched for a substitute for the Fire Spirit Herb.
He pored over the temple's pill-refining texts and herbals.
When he found nothing there, he sought related texts from outside and studied them again.
In the end, he could not find a herb to replace the Fire Spirit Herb.
However.
With the Buddha's grace, he succeeded in finding a way to utilize the failed Great Returning Pills from the refinement.
'The phenomenon of usable herbs dwindling in the world has persisted for a long time. If something like this happens again, won't the method I've discovered for utilizing failed Great Returning Pills—and my name—be remembered forever?'
This was satisfying enough.
With such thoughts, he attended the afternoon meeting.
The Pill Refining Pavilion Leader could not easily accept the decision handed down by Jeonghae Abbot.
"Please reconsider, Abbot. With only one day left, you want us to proceed with the refinement as before? If we don't use the method I've discovered by today, the potency of the Great Returning Pill ingredients will fade in an instant, and they'll be worthless in half a month. Or did you manage to obtain the Fire Spirit Herb?"
"Not yet. But Junior Monk, you have decided to follow the Buddha's will."
"..."
When Jeonghae Abbot invoked the Buddha's will, the Pill Refining Pavilion Leader was at a loss for words.
How could he deny the Buddha's will in this gathering?
The other elders murmured among themselves, but in the end, they seemed to accept Jeonghae Abbot's decision.
The Pill Refining Pavilion Leader left the meeting room with slumped shoulders, his head growing hot under the blazing sun.
***
Hyegang, one of the Four Great Vajras and the future of the Shaolin Temple, was practicing fist techniques alone in the training ground.
He couldn't suppress his anxiety without moving his body even for a moment.
As a result, a slight deviation crept into his fist path, which should have pierced even Mount Tai.
In his distraught state.
"Hyegang, have you heard the news?"
A fellow approached and asked bluntly.
"What news?"
"They say the Pill Refining Pavilion Leader's proposal was rejected."
"What?"
The Pill Refining Pavilion Leader, deeply immersed in the method he had developed, had excitedly visited Hyegang, with whom he shared a close bond, that morning and chattered away.
"Don't worry at all. You are the future of our Shaolin. Though the Great Returning Pill refinement failed, I've found a way to preserve three-tenths of its potency, granting twenty years of cultivation. I mentioned it at the morning meeting, so just wait a little."
All Shaolin monks desired it fervently, but no one craved the Great Returning Pill's success more than the Four Great Vajras and the Abbot.
They were to be the direct recipients.
Hyegang had leaped for joy upon being selected as one of the final four in the trials for the Four Great Vajras.
'I'll receive the Great Returning Pill too!'
Was it because he had heard endless tales of its wonders from a Shaolin lay disciple he had been close with as a child?
Once formally ordained, Hyegang thought of nothing but the Great Returning Pill.
It bordered on obsession.
If he could just obtain it, he might break through the wall that had stalled him for years and step into the Peak Realm.
The Great Returning Pill raised the success rate for warriors attempting to break through walls, making it a treasure coveted by all.
Lately, however, he had struggled to focus on training.
Rumors spread that the Great Returning Pill refinement would fail, growing stronger with time.
And they weren't baseless.
Those who best understood the refinement process all wore dark expressions.
Hyegang's face darkened in turn.
In that situation, the Pill Refining Pavilion Leader's claim of salvaging three-tenths of the effect was great comfort.
Hyegang renewed his resolve.
'We nearly lost everything, but three-tenths is impressive enough. With just twenty years of cultivation, I might even break through the wall.'
It had only been moments ago that this new hope had welled up.
"They say the Abbot declared we must follow the Buddha's will in all things."
The Buddha's will?
Though affiliated with the Shaolin Temple, Hyegang had never once considered his faith profound.
This didn't mean he intended to betray his root, the Shaolin Temple.
He simply wished to become a steadfast pillar of the martial world's Mount Tai and North Dipper, the Shaolin Temple.
A hero of the martial world who had mastered the Shaolin's Seventy-Two Ultimate Arts!
That dream now teetered on the brink of ruin.
'Does this mean not even three-tenths, but nothing at all?'
The Four Great Vajras had no right to attend meetings for elders and above.
Regardless of his will, he had to follow the Buddha's will.
His mind in turmoil, Hyegang halted his training and left to get some air.
To refresh his mood, his steps led him to a place he rarely visited.
***
The sunlight was warm.
The Shaolin Temple was exceedingly quiet and peaceful.
He had enjoyed a delicious lunch of vegetable rice.
Sitting idly on a rock in an empty spot, basking in the refreshing breeze, he felt like a true idler.
Yuseong, who had lived busily of late, had no memory of such leisure during the day.
Sleep began to creep in.
With much time left before using the next catalyst anyway, he was just about to close his eyes for a bit.
Thud—thud—
The sound of approaching footsteps chased away his drowsiness.
"Lay Disciple, what are you doing here? This is the new herb field—there's nothing here."
Turning, Yuseong saw a square-jawed monk who appeared to be in his mid-thirties.
He was clearly a martial monk, his physique well-honed.
"Ah, I'm Baek Yuseong. I'm staying here with Jeonghae Abbot's permission."
"The Abbot mentioned you, Lay Disciple?"
A flicker of doubt in his eyes soon shifted as the monk's gaze turned to the Fire Spirit Herb.
Something bloomed in the supposedly empty herb field, naturally drawing his eyes.
The Fire Spirit Herb was a truly peculiar herb.
At a glance, it resembled an ordinary weed, yet it had a distinct feature setting it apart from common grass.
Those familiar with that feature could identify it at once.
"Blue leaves with that red aura... That's a Fire Spirit Herb, isn't it? No way...!"
The monk rushed to the herb field, knelt, and examined the Fire Spirit Herb closely.
"That's right, it's a Fire Spirit Herb. I'm guarding it at Jeonghae Abbot's request."
"The Abbot told you to guard it? Could this be a Fire Spirit Herb over fifty years old?"
Yuseong had been caught using Divine Power by Jeonghae Abbot but didn't want to escalate matters further.
Since the Abbot had readily promised secrecy, glossing over it here seemed best.
However.
"Strange. It should be a bit larger than this—it's coming up short."
"..."
"No way the Abbot expects it to grow fully overnight, does he?"
Somehow, he had noticed the Fire Spirit Herb wasn't yet fifty years old.
Moreover, the monk's state was off.
"If this weren't here, the Abbot might abandon his fixation too? It's useless like this anyway. If this were gone... he might even adopt the Pill Refining Pavilion Leader's method. Yes, he definitely would."
Forgetting Yuseong's presence, he muttered to himself.
His hand slowly extended toward the Fire Spirit Herb.
From his demeanor, it seemed he meant to snap it.
'What is this guy doing!'
Yuseong was startled.
The Fire Spirit Herb left by Chosan and the Divine Power he had poured into it would all go to waste.
He couldn't stand by any longer.
He had to do something.
"Monk! Stop!"
At Yuseong's shout, the monk—Hyegang—snapped back to his senses.
'What was I about to do... No matter what, this is wrong. How could I defy the Abbot's will? I must have been briefly overtaken by a heart demon.'
In his obsession with the Great Returning Pill, he had nearly made a grave mistake under a heart demon's sway.
Small heart demons could come at any time.
And small heart demons could grow into great ones, so caution was essential.
The timely shout allowed Hyegang to escape the heart demon's initial grip.
Alone, it could have been disastrous.
'Right. Let's build steadily without relying on the Great Returning Pill. Not getting it doesn't mean I can't reach high realms. There are countless martial artists who haven't even glimpsed the Small Returning Pills I've already consumed several of.'
He gained a small enlightenment.
Then.
From behind the relieved Hyegang came Yuseong's sharp, chilling voice.
"Even if you're a monk, I won't tolerate you touching the Fire Spirit Herb!"
"..."
Turning, he saw the lay disciple—whose fist stance was impeccable but betrayed no inner energy—glaring at him as if ready to charge.
His hand still outstretched, Hyegang seemed to still be misunderstood as intent on breaking the herb.
"Lay Disciple, it's a misunderstanding. True, I was briefly lost to a heart demon and reached for the Fire Spirit Herb, but I'm fine now. Thanks to your timely shout pulling me back, I've escaped it."
"...Is that true?"
"Of course."
Yuseong eyed the monk suspiciously.
He had stepped well away from the Fire Spirit Herb, and his clear gaze suggested no deceit.
"Very well. I'll believe you."
Yet even after the exchange, the monk lingered without leaving.
"Is there more business with me?"
"Lay Disciple, if it's not rude, I have a question about your realm—may I ask?"
"...Go ahead."
"When you took that fist stance earlier, you seemed at first glance to have reached the Peak Realm, yet I sense no inner energy. I couldn't help but ask out of curiosity."
Yuseong smiled bitterly.
He usually muddled his posture and gait to hide his martial arts background, but the fist stance had given him away.
"My dantian was injured, and I lost my inner energy."
"...I asked unnecessarily. Forgive me. Amitabha."
"It's in the past, so no help for it. But who are you, Monk?"
"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Hyegang."
Yuseong immediately recognized him.
"So you're Hyegang of the Four Great Vajras."
He was the foremost of the Four Great Vajras, said to have reached the late Peak Realm.
"Indeed. Let me thank you again for helping me. If you ever need my aid, say the word anytime."
Yuseong's thoughts turned to the one targeting him lately.
'In the worst case, an assassin outside might come for me. If the Beggars' Sect disciples aren't around and one targets me, could I handle it in my current state?'
Yuseong felt the need to accurately assess his own level.
To gauge it precisely, he needed a suitable opponent.
"If you're truly grateful, would you spar with me?"