Chapter 1137
"Hohoho."
Gonggong forcibly suppressed his boiling rage and replied coldly.
"That seems like a question not even worth answering."
"It appears to have been answer enough."
If Shaolin had nothing to hide, they would never evade such a question.
Ultimately, Shaolin was either acting under the Buddhist Venerable's will—
Or, failing that, they were no longer upholding their role as the unwavering North Star guiding the Martial World's righteous energy.
"Even Shaolin...."
Bu Eun-seol let out a deep, unconscious sigh and shook his head.
"Have they fallen at last?"
Such words were outright blasphemy, intolerable in the presence of a Shaolin disciple.
"Mind your tongue."
Gonggong, as though unable to endure any further, furrowed his snow-white brows and snapped.
"Lord. You may believe you know much. But in this old monk's eyes, you are nothing more than an ignorant outsider."
"What do you mean?"
"This temple has safeguarded the Martial World far longer than the Martial Alliance itself."
Before Bu Eun-seol could respond, he continued.
"Only in times like these must we alter our methods. Do you understand what I mean?"
Bu Eun-seol, who had remained silent until now, spoke again.
"Are you saying the ends justify the means?"
"In the affairs of the Martial World, is it not 'the victor becomes king, the defeated a bandit'?"
Victors become kings, losers become outlaws.
It meant that those who triumphed embodied justice and wrote history—regardless of the means, the outcome justified everything.
Bu Eun-seol, finding this absurd,
Discarded his polite tone and spoke coldly.
"'The victor becomes king, the defeated a bandit'? Is that the kind of talk befitting a monk whose foundation is compassion?"
"If this humble monk does not descend into hell, who will?"
Gonggong replied with solemnity.
"While the Martial World's insignificant figures prattle of righteousness and chivalry, this temple willingly bore the weight of blood and filth. And yet a demonic disciple of the Demonic Path dares speak of our corruption!"
Bu Eun-seol said nothing.
Those with twisted convictions could never be persuaded.
"I no longer see any reason to continue this conversation."
Bu Eun-seol turned away indifferently.
"My apologies."
"Halt."
"Do you have further orders?"
"Do you believe Shaolin is a place one may enter and leave at will?"
KOOOOM.
Suddenly, a massive boulder crashed down at the entrance of Bodhi Cave.
The mechanisms installed within the cave had been triggered, sealing the exit.
"I fail to understand."
Bu Eun-seol frowned.
"The abbot need only lift a finger, and Shaolin's disciples would come swarming. Why go to such unnecessary trouble?"
"Would it not be troublesome if you slipped through our battle formation and escaped?"
Gonggong flashed a sinister smile.
"Moreover, rather than word spreading that Shaolin mobilized its disciples en masse... wouldn't it sound far more plausible that a trespasser who attempted to ambush the abbot in Bodhi Cave was struck down?"
Bu Eun-seol's martial prowess stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the era's superlative martial experts.
Deploying disciples would result in heavy casualties, and Shaolin would face inevitable criticism for imprisoning and overwhelming him with numbers.
Gonggong intended to trap Bu Eun-seol in Bodhi Cave and beat him to death under the pretense of an assassination attempt.
The dead could not speak.
"You've even prepared a convenient pretext to pin the crime on me."
Bu Eun-seol let out a hollow laugh instead.
"And this is Shaolin."
Dam-jeung, the abbot of Blood Shaolin, had been eccentric yet righteous, prioritizing the greater good over factional divides.
Even his grandfather had mastered Shaolin's secret arts, and the foundation of his own internal energy was rooted in Shaolin.
Yet... who could have imagined the abbot leading Shaolin would be so treacherous?
'No wonder the Same Heart Society's leader wielded Shaolin's secret internal arts.'
Only now did he understand why the Same Heart Society's leader had trained in Shaolin's internal techniques.
Shaolin was not caught in a conspiracy—they were closer to its masterminds.
"Have you finished all you wished to say?"
HUM. HUM.
Then, from deep within Bodhi Cave, a low vibration accompanied a hoarse voice.
HUM. HUM.
The vibrations grew nearer.
It felt as though something that should not exist in this world was slowly emerging from the darkness.
KOOOM.
Finally, as the vibrations ceased,
The gaunt figure of an elderly monk gradually came into view.
His skin was rough and deeply wrinkled, like the bark of a tree weathered by countless storms.
The dark age spots, as if scorched by sun and frost, clung to him like moss on ancient wood—natural yet strangely fitting.
But his eyes, unfathomable in depth, gleamed like the stars at the break of dawn.
They pierced through all things while embracing them with boundless mercy, holding within them the wisdom of countless eons.
Before them stood the living legend of Shaolin—the Divine Monk, the Buddhist Venerable, Hong-hyeon.
"Venerable One."
As the Buddhist Venerable appeared, Gonggong bowed respectfully.
"I shall take my leave now."
Nod.
At the Buddhist Venerable's slight nod, Gonggong withdrew with the utmost caution.
"Martial Soul Lord."
The Buddhist Venerable approached slowly, his clear gaze fixed upon Bu Eun-seol.
"You barged into our temple without so much as a notice. I assume you've prepared yourself for this."
In truth, Bu Eun-seol had countless questions for the Buddhist Venerable.
The Absolute Demon Saber Project, his grandfather's affairs, the Sacred Artifact kept by Blood Shaolin...
But now, he realized none of that mattered.
The Buddhist Venerable was nothing more than an old monster who sought to dominate Shaolin—and by extension, the martial world—under the guise of righteousness.
Whether he had collaborated with the Servants of the True Demon to advance the Absolute Demon Saber Project or harbored some other hidden scheme...
In the end, it was all driven by senile greed, utterly divorced from true justice.
And from his lips... no honest answer would ever come.
How could he have changed so much?
Back when Bu Eun-seol had infiltrated the Martial Alliance under the alias Seol-so...
The Buddhist Venerable had been the epitome of benevolence.
Even though he must have suspected Bu Eun-seol was not truly an ally of the Martial Alliance, he had selflessly imparted martial insights to him.
Not only that—when Bu Eun-seol had been ambushed by the Heavenly Venerable of the Infinite Realm and pushed to the brink of death...
The Buddhist Venerable had extended his hand without hesitation.
"That Divine Monk who was once so righteous—"
Bu Eun-seol could not suppress his sorrow as he sighed.
"How could you have fallen to such depravity?"
"Beasts see only beasts."
The Buddhist Venerable pressed his palms together and spoke.
"All of this is for the sake of righteousness in the martial world."
His gaze carried something akin to pity—as if looking upon a foolish mortal.
Then, slowly, with absolute tranquility, he brought his hands together in prayer before his chest.
BOOOOOM—!
The moment his palms parted, all sound in the world vanished.
Behind him, a massive golden halo erupted like an explosion, unfurling in all directions.
A single motion split into a thousand, and a thousand shadows merged into one colossal wave that filled the space.
This was no merciful hand.
It was an overwhelming force, as if the heavens themselves were collapsing—an unstoppable golden tsunami with no room to evade or block.
The Buddhist Venerable's signature technique, Shaolin's supreme palm art—
Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm.
Swish—!
Bu Eun-seol activated Swift Shadowless, effortlessly weaving through the cascading palm shadows—
Shing!
—and without hesitation, drew Ink Soul Sword.
There was no more need for words.
Only one thing remained.
A fight to the death—where one would fall, and the other would stand.
CRACK—!
With a sound like shattering glass, the palm shadows enveloping the Buddhist Venerable's form splintered apart.
Bu Eun-seol had unleashed Waning Moon Morning Star, annihilating the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm with sheer force.
Seizing the opening, he became a streak of black lightning, cleaving through space.
Slash—!
Ink Soul Sword struck like a serpent lunging for prey—swift, relentless, unyielding.
Finally piercing through the palm shadows, the blade was about to impale the Buddhist Venerable's abdomen when—
Snap.
Miraculously, the sword bound for his stomach was caught between the Buddhist Venerable's prayer-joined palms.
Tap.
At the same time, a feather-light palm energy brushed against Bu Eun-seol's chest—
BOOM—!
—and then, like a mountain crashing down, a terrifying palm force erupted in rapid succession, leaving afterimages in its wake.
Second strike, third strike...
Countless palm shadows rained upon Bu Eun-seol's body without pause.
His form was tossed back like a boat caught in a storm—utterly helpless against the onslaught.
Hiss...
By the time he was forced back to the entrance of Bodhi Cave, a streak of crimson had appeared at the corner of his lips.
In this first exchange, he had suffered a heavy loss.
"This is the last mercy this humble monk can offer."
The Buddhist Venerable extended a hand with an expression of utmost magnanimity.
"End your own life."
"......"
"Do so, and your remains will be returned intact to the Demon Hall."
Bu Eun-seol gave no reply.
His mind, already locked in combat, was calculating the countless martial techniques the Buddhist Venerable could unleash next.
Having completed his analysis—
CRACK—!
—he became a violent gale, charging straight at the Buddhist Venerable.
Simultaneously, Ink Soul Sword closed the distance in the blink of an eye, stopping just three feet from the Buddhist Venerable's throat—
Swish—!
—before abruptly shifting direction mid-flight, aiming to pierce through his left shoulder.
The Buddhist Venerable deflected the blade with a light flick of palm energy, but Bu Eun-seol whirled into a storm of black sword aura, relentlessly closing the gap.
"The Fire Rain Thirteen Forms, I see."
The Buddhist Venerable's deep eyes flickered with admiration as he observed the sword strokes.
"To have honed even the foundational sword arts to this degree..."
Swish.
Then, he retrieved a single prayer bead from his sleeve and flicked it lightly with his middle finger.
Tung!
A golden flash streaked through the air as the bead struck the very tip of Bu Eun-seol's blade with perfect precision.
It was a masterful display of the Divine Finger Flick—a supreme Shaolin technique.
Had this been an ordinary martial artist, their grip would have shattered, forcing them to drop their sword.
Whirr—
But Bu Eun-seol, who had already drawn a wide arc with Ink Soul Sword,
deflected the overwhelming force of the Divine Finger Flick with a swift and exquisite counterstroke, swift as lightning.
"If it were that easy to deflect, it wouldn't be called a Shaolin secret art."
Zzziiing—
Suddenly, Bu Eun-seol's body trembled violently, as if struck by a tremendous shock.
Though he had neutralized the force of the Divine Finger Flick,
the immense internal energy imbued in the prayer bead surged back along the edge of Ink Soul Sword, violently shaking the vast and pure internal energy within his body.
Drip.
A thin trail of blood trickled from the corner of his lips.
Merely deflecting the Divine Finger Flick with his sword had felt like taking a direct hit from a colossal Vajra Pestle to the chest.
"I will give you another chance."
Standing perfectly still, the Buddhist Venerable spoke again in a low voice.
"End your own life."
His words reverberated deep within Bu Eun-seol's spirit and mind, as if seizing control of his very soul.
KWAOOONG!
Instead of answering, Bu Eun-seol unleashed the First Form of the Fire Rain Sword—Mystery Upon Mystery.
Originally a purely defensive stance, yet when Bu Eun-seol executed it,
his condensed sword energy pierced through the air like a shockwave, precisely striking the Shoulder Well Acupoint on the Buddhist Venerable's right shoulder.
With a sharp, stinging sensation, the Venerable's entire arm momentarily went numb.
Huumm.
In that instant, the lingering energy of the Divine Finger Flick, which had been relentlessly invading Bu Eun-seol's meridians, dissipated completely.
The Buddhist Venerable's Divine Finger Flick had not unfolded like an ordinary Finger Wind—
it had seeped in like a thin, unbroken thread, continuously infiltrating.
"Impressive."
The Buddhist Venerable nodded slowly, his expression one of deep admiration as Bu Eun-seol deciphered the secret of his technique.
"At your age, no one has ever discerned the nature of this old monk's Divine Finger Flick."
Then, with a leisurely and almost merciful motion, he extended his hand.
KOONG, KOONG.
A deafening sound followed, and Bu Eun-seol staggered back like a drunken man, forced several steps away.
Even while praising him, the Venerable had secretly unleashed his internal power, executing the secret art of the Heart-Knocking Bell.
"Your internal energy is truly remarkable. Normally, one's organs would rupture from this."
Clank.
Without a word, Bu Eun-seol slowly raised Ink Soul Sword to mid-stance.
OOOONG—
In that instant, a storm of pitch-black sword energy erupted from his entire body.
The energy split into dozens, then hundreds of forms, tearing through the air as it surged toward the Buddhist Venerable.
Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
An absolute sword art that delivered death to all things had been unleashed.
"You have yet to step into the realm of true death."
The Buddhist Venerable uttered the same words he had once spoken to the leader of the Same Heart Society.
"This cannot be called the true Bloody Tears Seven Forms."
A cold glint flashed in the Venerable's eyes as he stood at the center of the black storm.
It was as if an infinite killing intent, long suppressed beneath deep compassion, was now surging forth—like a Buddha transforming into a wrathful demon.
"Namu Amitabha."
Disgustingly, he still did not forget to murmur the Buddhist chant in that low voice.
SHWOOK.
In an instant, the Buddhist Venerable's figure shot upward, reaching the ceiling of Bodhi Cave.
Behind him, the colossal golden form of a thousand-armed Buddha manifested.
But these thousand arms were not outstretched in benevolence—they were clenched into fists.
Though it appeared as if he were executing the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm, in truth, he was unleashing the Arhat Divine Fist.
FWOOOOSH—
The golden torrent of the Arhat Divine Fist
descended like hundreds of fist shadows, crashing against the sword energy of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
KRAAAK—BOOOOM!
As the golden fist shadows of the Arhat Divine Fist clashed with the terrifying sword energy of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms, thunderous explosions shook the cave without end.
Bu Eun-seol's chest burned as if engulfed in flames, his breath ragged and harsh.
Every time he unleashed his sword energy,
it was blocked by the golden Arhat Divine Fist, dissipating his attacks and sending the counterforce surging back at him.
"You deliberately take a defensive stance to gauge this old monk's martial arts. You still have room to spare."
The Buddhist Venerable smiled faintly.
"But from now on, I shall exert my true strength."
Whoosh!
The moment the Venerable activated his movement technique, the interior of Bodhi Cave was suddenly filled with his afterimages.
Shaolin's Supreme Body-Locomotion Martial Art.
He had simultaneously executed the Nine Grades of the Lotus Platform and the Immovable Diamond Movement Art.
Whoooosh—
As the Buddhist Venerable, a master of Shaolin's Seventy-Two Supreme Arts, unleashed his movement technique, it became an invisible secret art impossible to follow with the naked eye.
Having completely dominated the space, he filled it with a presence both fluid and overwhelming, cornering Bu Eun-seol into a situation where he had no choice but to deploy his True Void Secret Art.
Tsk-tsk-tsk—
Bu Eun-seol, too, activated Swift Shadowless, narrowly evading the pursuing shadows one by one.
In the blink of an eye, the Bodhi Cave was filled with their afterimages—until, in the next moment, the shadows of the two men, who had been generating phantoms by pushing their internal energy to the limit, vanished entirely.
"If you do not unleash the True Void Absolute Art within ten moves, this old monk will sever your breath."
A majestic Buddhist radiance bloomed from the Buddhist Venerable's body as he conjured countless afterimages. Even while executing his movement technique, he was simultaneously circulating the Bodhi Heart Technique, preparing for a final strike.
It was undoubtedly his Limitless Power—a force said to be capable of nullifying an enemy's strength in a single blow.
Zzzzzt— Zzzzzt—
For an instant, the Buddhist Venerable's entire body flickered like a star.
If his flesh flashed nine more times...
The pinnacle of Shaolin's Secret Arts, the Buddhist Venerable's Limitless Power—something no one had mastered in a hundred years—would be unleashed.
At that moment, a brilliant light erupted from Bu Eun-seol's Ink Soul Sword.
He had drawn every ounce of energy in his body and channeled it into the blade—manifesting the Harmonization of the Heaven-Shattering Form.
"An impressive display. But it's already too late."
No sooner had the Buddhist Venerable's shout ended than—
Whoosh—!
Bu Eun-seol's Harmonization was diverted—utterly misdirected.
The reason the Buddhist Venerable had ceaselessly generated afterimages in the Bodhi Cave, even before activating Limitless Power, was simple.
It was a method to preemptively block Bu Eun-seol's counterattack—
To execute Tathagata's Annihilation, a technique that redirects all enemy strikes into meaningless trajectories.
KWAOOOONG—!
From the Buddhist Venerable's hand burst forth a radiance so blindingly white it could sear the eyes—like a newborn sun.
No light. No sound. No heat.
It was a pure wave of annihilation—erasing space and nullifying time itself.
The Buddhist Venerable's Limitless Power—
A light of destruction that resembled the compassionate smile of the Buddha, yet obliterated all existence down to its very origin.
The Vajra Annihilation Wave.
Zzzzzt—
In that instant, Bu Eun-seol summoned every last drop of his internal power, forming a protective Astral Qi.
But it meant nothing before the Vajra Annihilation Wave.
The light did not pierce his barrier—it seeped into his very flesh.
Tsk-sssss—
A horrifying agony, as if something were gnawing at his body from within, tore through him—
CRACK!
Like a drought-parched field, fissures began spiderwebbing across Bu Eun-seol's hardened physique.
At first, they were hairline fractures—but as the light intensified, the cracks spread like a web across his entire body.
Crrk-crrk-crrk!
Not even a scream escaped him.
The surging energy had ruptured even his vocal cords.
All he could do was stare wide-eyed, helplessly watching as his body crumbled from within.
Grrroooowl—
What spilled from the cracks was not blood—but the very vital energy of his being.
Thud.
Finally, Bu Eun-seol collapsed to the ground, blood seeping from every pore.
"Amitabha."
The Buddhist Venerable approached the fallen man and pressed his palms together in prayer.
A genuine gesture of mourning for the death of a young master who had once looked down on the world.
Swish—
Then—
Bu Eun-seol slowly rose to his feet.
His body, which should have been utterly ravaged, his vital energy annihilated, destined for a wretched death—
Was standing, completely unharmed.
"...How?"
The Buddhist Venerable's gaze, usually as placid as still water, trembled violently.
Had he dodged? That would be one thing.
But once exposed to the Vajra Annihilation Wave, no master, no matter how great, could hope for mercy.
So how—how was he still alive?
"Venerable Hong-hyeon."
Brushing off his robes, Bu Eun-seol strode forward and posed a sudden question.
"There is, in fact, a secret to immortality. Do you know what it is?"
When the Buddhist Venerable remained silent, Bu Eun-seol smiled faintly.
"I'll tell you. It's simple—have many people take on the role, generation after generation."
Still meeting the Buddhist Venerable's silence, Bu Eun-seol curled his lips.
"This Lord has met the Buddhist Venerable before. Back then, he was a terror—strong enough to drive out the Heavenly Venerable of the Infinite Realm in a single move."
The Buddhist Venerable scoffed, as if the notion were absurd.
"And? Are you saying this old monk is weaker now?"
"Not at all. You're exactly as strong as you were then."
Bu Eun-seol's expression was laced with equal parts scorn and mockery.
"Still the same... identical strength as back then."