Chapter 317: Depraved Monk
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 317: Depraved Monk
“So you're the one who found it? The Formless Vajra Art.”
For a moment, his confident voice made me anxious, but then a strange sense of unease washed over me.
The one who gave me the Formless Vajra Art was Vajra Divine Monk himself.
But he was acting as if he'd never seen me before.
'Could it be...'
Suddenly, I remembered what Vajra Divine Monk had said a moment ago.
-This isn't an illusion. I've simply recreated a scene from my youth here.
What if it wasn't just the scenery he'd recreated inside this formation?
If my guess was right, that would explain why he looked younger than the man I'd met at the old temple.
“...Did you create this place in your youth and enshrine your soul here, Vajra Divine Monk?”
Hearing my question, a smile touched Vajra Divine Monk's lips.
“So you're not a complete idiot.”
But because of his rugged, intimidating face, even that smile was quite threatening.
If he took off his monk's robe, no one would ever mistake him for a monk.
“To be precise, I made this place when I was eighty.”
“Eighty?”
For a second, I doubted my own ears.
He looked far too young to be eighty.
Although he seemed to have a lot of wrinkles, that was more due to his harsh expression. He looked to be in his thirties at most.
“This is what happens when you diligently practice the Formless Vajra Art. At your current level, you won't age until you're a hundred years old.”
“...The Formless Vajra Art has such an effect?”
“Keke, so you don't deny that you've learned the Formless Vajra Art?”
Vajra Divine Monk crossed his arms, letting out a chilling laugh and smiling as if he found this amusing.
“Well... now that the cat's out of the bag, there's no point in playing dumb, is there?”
I hadn't revealed my Vajra Qi even once since entering the formation.
And yet, he had already grasped not only my realm but also my level of achievement in the Formless Vajra Art.
He probably even sensed the other martial arts I've learned and the presence of my magic power.
More importantly, I, too, had realized something while looking at Vajra Divine Monk.
Gulp.
I swallowed dryly and thought to myself.
The Murim Alliance Leader, the Evil Alliance Leader, the Heavenly Demonic Cult Leader... a monster that couldn't even be compared to them was right here.
It was impossible to judge him by worldly realms like the Flower Realm or the Profound Realm.
He was beyond that.
He was an absolute powerhouse who had already transcended the realms of the mortal world and stood on a higher plane.
I wasn't foolish enough to speak carelessly to a master who had reached a supreme realm I couldn't even begin to fathom.
Vajra Divine Monk, who had been staring at me in silence, finally spoke.
“You're fated to live a long life.”
“...Do monks read fortunes?”
“I can't.”
“Then what was that just now?”
“It means that if you learn the Formless Vajra Art that I created and still die young, I'll have no choice but to find you when you reincarnate and beat the shit out of you. So if you don't want to die young again and again, you'd better make sure you live a long life.”
“...”
Hearing that, I was at a loss for words.
What the hell? Did I meet a monk or a gangster?
It was hard to dismiss it as a simple joke; his expression was dead serious.
“...I have no intention of dying young either. I have too many people to take responsibility for.”
As long as there are women I need to take care of, I can't die even if I want to.
Even if I did die, I'd grab King Yama by the collar and force him to bring me back to life.
“Seems you're not entirely useless.”
Pleased with my response, Vajra Divine Monk flicked his robe and sat down on a nearby rock.
No matter how I look at it, he doesn't look like a monk. He looks like a bandit who killed a monk and stole his robe.
“Alright, then. Start by bowing to me.”
“Huh?”
“The Nine Bows Ritual. The Nine Bows Ritual! If you've learned the peerless divine art that I created, shouldn't you show proper respect to your master?”
I'd kind of expected it from his face, but he seemed to be a real traditionalist.
“...So I just have to bow nine times?”
Of course, I knew that the Nine Bows Ritual (九拜之禮) consisted of nine different ways of bowing: Kaesu (稽首), Donsu (顿首), Gongsu (空首), Jingong (振动), Gilbae (吉拜), Hyungbae (凶拜), Gibae (奇拜), Pobae (褒拜), and Sukbae (肅拜).
But I didn't actually know the specifics of how to perform them.
Wuxia novels from Earth rarely went into detail about the Nine Bows Ritual, and just because this world seemed similar to those novels didn't guarantee everything was the same.
“That's up to you.”
“Huh?”
“The method for the Nine Bows Ritual differs from sect to sect. Things like Kaesu and Donsu are just traditions passed down in old texts. You don't have to be bound by them.”
“...Then can I just bow once?”
Why would I bow nine times? What a pain.
“You little punk.”
Thwack!
“Ack!!”
The dull impact on my head sent me crashing to the floor.
I thought I saw stars.
“A disciple should revere and respect his master, but I don't see a single shred of that in you.”
“You said it was up to me!”
“And yet, you punk!”
WHACK!
“Gah?!”
The shock left my mind reeling. I clutched my head and trembled.
Even though I had deployed my Protective Aura, Vajra Divine Monk's attack struck my head without fail.
But it wasn't as if my Protective Aura had been broken.
It was as if the attack had passed right through it.
“Tsk, tsk. Trying to block your master's discipline. You're rotten from the start.”
“What kind of monk beats someone with a wooden fish...?!!”
I wondered why it hurt so damn much. Turns out he wasn't hitting me with his fist, but with a wooden fish.
That crazy depraved monk.
“Ahem, again!”
Flinch!
I quickly protected my head.
I couldn't track it with my eyes or sense it with my qi, so dodging was practically impossible.
So, the best I could do was try to make it hurt less when I got hit.
But no matter how long I waited, the dull impact that had struck my head twice didn't come.
Still, I didn't let my guard down.
'This is a trap. There's no way that crazy monk would let me off.'
The moment I relaxed my posture, he'd surely strike me with that wooden fish like a phantom.
“Stop the foolishness and get up.”
“...Are you going to hit me?”
“I won't.”
“Swear it on the Buddha.”
“...”
A strange silence followed.
In that moment, an unknown anxiety shot through my mind, sending a chill down my spine.
Crack.
The sound of cracking knuckles from somewhere made my instincts scream a warning.
“Hoo... You truly are a disciple who begs for a beating.”
“...Master! This unworthy disciple will now show you the proper respect between a master and a stude—”
“Too late, you troublesome disciple.”
CRACK!!
*
Formlessness (無相) is the practice of abandoning attachment to form and awakening to the true essence of existence, which is 'Emptiness' (空).
凡所有相 皆是虛妄 若見諸相非相 卽見如來. [All that has form is illusory. If you see that all forms are not forms, you will see the Tathagata.]
“All that has form is illusory. If you see that all forms are not forms, you will see the Tathagata.”
Formlessness does not simply mean 'without form'.
It signifies the path and process of reaching freedom, wisdom, and beyond by realizing that all we see has no true substance and casting off our attachment to it.
“Emptiness (空), Formlessness (無相), and Wishlessness (無願).”
Pass through the Three Gates of Liberation (三解脫門), sever worldly desires, attain enlightenment, and reach Nirvana.
All things have no substance (Emptiness).
No form is real (Formlessness).
Live without any desire (Wishlessness).
The Three Gates of Liberation refer to the three types of meditation (禪定) one practices to reach enlightenment.
'Hmm...'
As I sat in the lotus position listening to Vajra Divine Monk's explanation, a question suddenly occurred to me.
“Um, Master?”
“Tsk, no idle chatter. Concentrate.”
The wooden fish in his hand was terrifying, but I had to say what was on my mind.
“Why do I have to listen to this?”
“Ahem! I told you to concentrate!”
Unable to take it anymore, I shot to my feet.
“I mean, I didn't come here to study Buddhist Dharma...”
But the moment I saw Vajra Divine Monk's menacing face, I had a sudden change of heart.
Hmm, the master must have his reasons, right?
“Too late, you punk.”
Thwack!
The wooden fish came flying without fail, and I collapsed to the ground, clutching my head.
“Guuh...!!”
Tears welled up in my eyes.
I just couldn't comprehend the situation.
My body's durability is greater than that of an A-rank tanker.
I can withstand a collision with a 2.5-ton truck head-on, yet a single blow from a wooden fish makes me feel like my skull is cracking?
Even if I couldn't use my other energies, this made no sense.
“Tsk, tsk. With such a shallow mind, how did you ever manage to learn martial arts?”
I felt wronged.
Honestly, I wasn't at a level where I should be treated so poorly.
At twenty-one, I was on the verge of the pinnacle of the Transcendent Realm. Not long ago, I defeated Ma Paeseon, the Asura Demon Lord and an elder of the Heavenly Demonic Cult, and even Wang Chwiong, the Black Crow Sect Leader, known as the greatest power in the Twelve Demonic Sects.
This was beyond just being a promising talent; it was the kind of unbelievable story you'd find in a third-rate novel from the marketplace, one that would be criticized for its lack of plausibility.
But after hearing me out, Vajra Divine Monk just scoffed mockingly.
“Did you accomplish all that with martial arts alone?”
“Well...”
My lips trembled, but in the end, I shook my head.
When I fought Ma Paeseon, I borrowed the power of magic. Against Wang Chwiong, the Black Flame and the Rosary were a great help.
I had never fought using only my martial arts.
But that was only natural.
I am a martial artist, but I am also a mage.
It's perfectly normal for a mage to use magic and borrow the power of artifacts.
I repeated that to myself over and over.
But that didn't make the nagging feeling in the corner of my mind go away.
“Enough with the meaningless self-justification. Sit back down.”
I followed Vajra Divine Monk's command and sat in the lotus position again.
I took a slow breath, trying to focus and shake off the unpleasant feeling.
By the way, I'd been sensing it for a while, but the spiritual energy of heaven and earth here was much richer than in the Central Plains.
Is this also an effect of the formation?
“The Formless Vajra Art is divided into three realms: the Gate of Emancipation through Emptiness (空解脫門), the Gate of Formlessness Liberation (無相解脫門), and the Gate of Wishlessness Liberation (無願解脫門). You haven't even reached the Gate of Emancipation through Emptiness yet.”
“Then what should I do?”
“Didn't I just tell you? All things have no substance, no form is real, and live without any desire.”
“...Should I read the Vajra Sutra (金剛經) or something?”
Honestly, it wasn't easy to understand his words right away.
Part of it was my limited knowledge of Buddhism, but a bigger factor was that my knowledge came from Earth.
No matter how many similarities this world shared, it was still a different world, so there were bound to be differences.
Because of that, I couldn't make any hasty judgments.
Just as I was thinking I should get a few of this world's scriptures before returning to Earth, Vajra Divine Monk shook his head.
“I don't read the scriptures much myself. They're just packed with text. It's boring.”
“...But I heard you were the Abbot of the Shaolin Temple.”
Vajra Divine Monk responded to my words with indifference.
“You think I wanted to do it? The other guys begged and pleaded, so I had no choice but to take the position.”
“I heard you ran off in your later years. What was that about?”
“Ran off? I just wanted to eat some meat, and they wouldn't stop nagging me, so I packed my bags and left.”
“...”
Is he really a monk?
As if reading my thoughts, he fiddled with his wooden fish.
I hastily turned my head away, thinking my skull might actually get shattered this time.
“Hmph, enough idle talk. Take out the Prajna Divine Pill.”
“The Prajna Divine Pill?”
The unexpected topic made me turn back to Vajra Divine Monk and just blink.
“You must have found it with the Formless Vajra Art. Stop dawdling and take it out. I'll help you absorb it.”
“Uh... yes, well... I did find it...?”
At Vajra Divine Monk's words, I quietly lowered my head and looked at my stomach.
Vajra Divine Monk's eyes widened as he watched me.
“Don't tell me...?”
I nodded silently.
“I already ate it.”
I patted my stomach for emphasis.
Seeing Vajra Divine Monk's genuinely surprised reaction made me feel inexplicably proud.
I thought I might finally get a word of praise from that depraved monk.
Of course, some might ask why I'd want praise after getting beaten with a wooden fish like that, but that's just how people are.
It's like how you can get yelled at by your boss for a hundred days, but a single word of praise can still make you feel good.
But the next words out of his mouth instantly shattered my expectations.
“...How are you still alive?”
“...?”