Chapter 302
Chapter 302
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 83
>Chapter Title: Demonic Beast (4)
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Kiririk! You damned sorcerer bastard! Won’t you come back right now!”
-Boom! Kwa-kwa-kwang!
As Mok Kyung-un punched through the wall and vanished beyond it, the enraged Demonic Beast Alyu began rampaging wildly, slamming its hooves against the floor repeatedly.
The restraints bound to its four legs, which were part of the dharma vessel, automatically tightened in an attempt to calm Alyu down as the floor shattered and it thrashed about.
Normally, the Anti-Demon Monks would recite the Anti-Demon Incantation to suppress the Demonic Beast Alyu’s malevolent nature and put it to sleep.
However, unfortunately, the Anti-Demon Hall Master had ordered the Anti-Demon Monks to leave temporarily so they wouldn’t hear Mok Kyung-un chanting the sorcerer’s spells, and that became the root of the problem.
-Crack!
Unable to withstand the rampaging Demonic Beast Alyu’s strength, the restraints finally snapped.
As the front leg restraints broke, Alyu couldn’t hide its ecstasy.
“Kirik! Kirik! Finally broken, you worthless things.”
With the front legs free, snapping the back ones was a piece of cake.
In the end, the back leg restraints also broke after a few kicks.
-Snap!
Now that all four leg restraints were gone, the Demonic Beast Alyu immediately charged toward the iron gate to escape the cave.
-Kwaaaang!
The iron gate was engraved with gold-inlaid Anti-Demon Incantations, but Alyu’s power was so immense that a single collision crumpled it outward.
Thanks to this, the Anti-Demon Hall Master waiting outside for Mok Kyung-un realized something had gone wrong.
“Deok-su, go to the adjacent chamber right now and bring all the Anti-Demon Monks.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
As Anti-Demon Monk Deok-su ran off, the Anti-Demon Hall Master gathered his dharma power and began reciting the Anti-Demon Incantation toward the iron gate.
“Om somani somani hum arahanna arahanna hum arahanna banaya hum banaya hum baa bam baara hum batak.”
* * *
At the same time.
Precepts Hall Leader Venerable Dae-deok, accompanied by the monks of the Precepts Hall, headed toward the entrance of Shaolin Temple.
Shaolin Temple boasted the largest grounds among all the temples in the Central Plains, so it took quite some time just to get there.
Moreover, since it was located midway up Mount Song, the distances between its grounds were vast.
Walking would take nearly two ke (hours) from Nahan Hall, but thanks to employing lightness skill at a moderate pace, Venerable Dae-deok arrived at the entrance within half a ke.
At Shaolin’s entrance stood armed soldiers clad in armor and over a hundred troops.
Venerable Dae-deok pressed his palms together in greeting toward the bearded general who appeared to be the soldiers’ leader.
“Amitabha. I am Dae-deok, Precepts Hall Leader of Shaolin. To what does Shaolin owe the honor of the imperial officials’ visit to this humble place?”
“Precepts Hall Leader, eh? That makes you someone fairly high up in Shaolin, I suppose.”
The young monks of the Precepts Hall furrowed their brows at the arrogant tone of the imperious officer.
Even though the current imperial court followed the way of filial piety, Shaolin was an ancient temple that had aided the nation across generations due to its ties with Emperor Taejo, the founding emperor, and thus deserved respect.
Yet this officer’s attitude showed none of that.
“I am Kang-hak, Commander of the Imperial Guard. Out of respect for your ties to Emperor Taejo, I have refrained from forcing entry into Shaolin. However, we have received information that great traitors are here.”
“Amitabha. Great traitors? What do you mean by that?”
At Venerable Dae-deok’s words, Imperial Guard Commander Kang-hak sneered.
“Pretending ignorance won’t help. Do you know how many people nearby have reported a massive strange bird crashing into Shaolin?”
“Hah. The imperial officer is truly putting this monk in a difficult position. This is merely a place where tonsured monks cultivate the Buddha’s way.”
“A place where they merely cultivate the Buddha’s way? Ha! Such words coming from the orthodoxy of the world’s martial arts.”
“Amitabha.”
Venerable Dae-deok simply pressed his palms together and recited the Buddha’s name.
Imperial Guard Commander Kang-hak scowled and raised his voice.
“Are you saying Shaolin is harboring the great traitors who broke prisoners out of the underground Golden Prison? If so, even with your ties to Emperor Taejo, I will have no choice but to enter by force and search.”
At those words, the young Precepts Hall monks erupted in protest all at once.
“No! What kind of outrage is this?”
“Forced entry? Even as imperial officials, how dare you to the Buddha’s...”
“Enough!”
But Venerable Dae-deok silenced them with a stern shout.
Then, as if harboring no resentment toward Imperial Guard Commander Kang-hak at all, he bowed his head with palms pressed together and spoke in a gentle voice.
“Amitabha. Though Shaolin is a place to cultivate the Buddha’s way, how could we harbor great traitors? Please dispel your misunderstanding, officer.”
“Misunderstanding? Then bring the great traitors here right now. Do that, and there will be no need for a forced search of Shaolin.”
“Amitabha.”
At Imperial Guard Commander Kang-hak’s words, Precepts Hall Leader Venerable Dae-deok recited the Buddha’s name as if troubled.
However, contrary to his expression, that was far from his true feelings.
In fact, he was grateful that his wish had come true.
* * *
-Mortal? Mortal?
Cheong-ryeong called out to Mok Kyung-un, whose eyes had gone blank as he stared at the wall.
Wondering if some problem had arisen, she realized his gaze was fixed on the stone wall of the Wall-Gazing Cave and stopped calling.
‘No way he entered a mental visualization in that brief instant?’
The current phenomenon was just like entering a mental visualization.
Yet he hadn’t even opened his Ghost Eye to deeply concentrate on the incantation formula. This was the second time—after the stele—falling into visualization without warning.
Watching this, Cheong-ryeong found it eerie.
His concentration was stronger than hers had ever been in life, but consecutive enlightenments like this were no ordinary occurrence.
Even if this was Shaolin, the birthplace of orthodox martial arts.
‘No way...’
It was right then.
A rainbow light was rising from the crown of Mok Kyung-un’s head, eyes closed.
‘Aaaah!’
Cheong-ryeong couldn’t contain her excitement.
* * *
‘Grasping with an arm that doesn’t exist...’
An originally impossible act had become reality.
Moreover, since the water flowed down, it wasn’t about gripping but supporting—yet he was gripping it.
All of this was no different from turning the void into substance through will.
Strong will made it all possible.
‘Will...’
Through this, Mok Kyung-un gained a great enlightenment different from all before.
The various principles contained in that simple motion upended his mind, gradually organizing one by one.
His vague sense of qi up to now was the same.
Qi was not something distant in the end.
All that existed was qi, and qi was ultimately all that existed.
‘So that’s what it was.’
Now he felt he truly understood what qi was.
It was truly mysterious.
Just observing this process cleared all his previous blockages.
‘A true genius?’
-Swish!
Then, the practitioner gazing at the stone wall through Mok Kyung-un’s eyes lowered the hem of his kasaya robe from his head.
His deep, dark skin and bushy beard were markedly different from Central Plains folk.
The moment he saw this, something flashed through Mok Kyung-un’s mind.
‘No way?’
Curiosity piqued, Mok Kyung-un moved closer to see his face.
Then the one who had lowered his kasaya spoke.
[If you have gained enough, return now to where you belong.]
‘!?’
Mok Kyung-un froze for a moment.
He had been certain all these scenes were unfolding within the mental visualization.
Yet this practitioner staring at the stone wall spoke as if aware of him.
Finding it bizarre, Mok Kyung-un approached to see his face—
-Swish!
The snowy cave instantly reverted to its original state.
Mok Kyung-un furrowed his brow at the now silent cave and pooled water on the floor, as if nothing had happened.
What in the world was this?
He had experienced countless mental visualizations, but none as vivid and immersive as this.
Moreover, those final words still lingered unforgettable.
‘...It was merely a glimpse.’
Why did those last words sound like they were directed at him, not the self-mutilating practitioner?
It was even confusing.
Then Cheong-ryeong’s voice reached Mok Kyung-un’s ear.
-Mortal!
At her excited tone, Mok Kyung-un replied puzzled.
“What is it?”
-...Let me ask directly. Did you break through the wall that blocked you?
She had personally witnessed the rainbow light rising from his crown during the visualization, enveloping his entire body.
Thus, she was already all but certain.
At her question, Mok Kyung-un shrugged and opened his mouth to answer.
“The wall Cheong-ryeong speaks of...”
-Kurururur!
At that instant, the entire cave shook, the ceiling cracked, and debris rained down.
Mok Kyung-un turned from the Wall-Gazing Cave’s stone wall to look toward the cave hole he had slid down.
There, a ferocious malevolence accompanied screams.
* * *
“Om somani somani hum ara...”
-Crack!
The Demonic Beast Alyu bit off the upper body of an Anti-Demon Monk who had been swinging his vajra scepter while reciting the Anti-Demon Incantation.
As it chewed the torn upper body with crunching sounds, one Anti-Demon Monk lost his reason in rage and charged.
“Dieeee!”
-Kwajik!
But that monk was soon trampled under a hoof, reduced to an unrecognizable pulp.
With five Anti-Demon Monks dead in an instant, fear and terror filled the eyes of those remaining.
Sensing this, the Demonic Beast Alyu roared in ecstatic delight.
“Kiririririririk!”
To an Immae-mangnyang, human negative emotions like fear or terror were no different from nourishment.
Consuming humans in that state was the ultimate delicacy.
‘Kirik! Perfect. More! Fear me more!’
The Demonic Beast Alyu intended to repay everything it had endured during 99 days of captivity.
Of course, it had no intention of fighting all of Shaolin.
Its goal was simply to kill these damned Anti-Demon Monks for catharsis and then escape Shaolin.
‘A pity I couldn’t kill that bastard.’
If it had killed that guy protected by the monster fox here, it would have been amusing to watch these monks and that woman fight. Truly regrettable.
So, to soothe that regret even a little, it would slaughter these monks cruelly before leaving.
At that moment, something glared at the Demonic Beast Alyu’s red eyes.
Alyu promptly lowered its head.
-Paaang!
What flew in was a vajra scepter infused with dharma power.
The one who threw it was the Anti-Demon Hall Master.
His kasaya robe soaked in blood showed his injuries were severe.
“Haa... haa... Everyone, get a grip. We must hold that evil creature here until reinforcements arrive!”
At his shout, some Anti-Demon Monks gritted their teeth and gripped their vajra scepters anew.
At this sight, the Demonic Beast Alyu scoffed.
Even dying, the leader was trying desperately to rally morale—leaders were leaders indeed.
‘So if I kill you, old monk, these monks will have no choice!’
-Boom!
The Demonic Beast Alyu kicked off the ground and charged toward the injured Anti-Demon Hall Master.
Startled, some Anti-Demon Monks hurled their vajra scepters at it simultaneously.
-Papapapapang!
Yet the beast that over a hundred Anti-Demon Monks couldn’t easily subdue wouldn’t be stopped by a mere five vajra scepters.
The Anti-Demon Hall Master gathered his dharma power to confront it himself.
“Om somani somani hum ari... Keok.”
Mid-incantation, the Anti-Demon Hall Master vomited a mouthful of blood.
In that instant, despair flickered in his eyes.
Having lived most of his life as an Anti-Demon Monk, to end like this at an evil creature’s hands was truly bizarre.
Was all this karma in the end?
Gazing at the approaching Demonic Beast Alyu, the Anti-Demon Hall Master closed his eyes.
Despairing or not, what could be done about death?
He recited the Buddha’s name inwardly.
‘Amita...’
-Kwaaaang!
At that very moment, a deafening roar shook his ears, making the Anti-Demon Hall Master furrow his brow and open his eyes.
‘!!!!!!!’
An astonishing sight unfolded before him.
The Demonic Beast Alyu’s head was smashed into the floor, half-buried, and atop it stood someone with a smirk.
“Patron?”
It was Mok Kyung-un.