Heavenly Demon Divine Saint - Chapter 1

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 1
“Haah….”
In the Cave, darkness as deep as pitch settled like a shroud.
From Hye Gwang, a man with a freshly shaved head, golden breath flowed forth.
‘Not much time remains.’
Nirvana.
The pinnacle that every Buddhist monk who entered the Dharma aspired toward—and for me, a summit with but a single step remaining.
Through countless afflictions and contemplations, I had finally transcended them.
After innumerable trials and errors, I had awakened to the truth.
That I had been ensnared by hollow formalities that offered no true benefit, thereby losing sight of what truly mattered.
And by establishing my own Buddhist path and walking it, I had discovered it.
The truth.
Whooooom!
Golden auspicious light flooded the cavern walls. The euphoria coursing through my entire being seemed to herald that Nirvana was near at hand.
“Hehehehe, just look at that.”
Suddenly, the voices of my senior brothers echoed through my mind.
-We heard you were entering wall-facing meditation. Is it true? A noble aspiration, but… why not instead demonstrate the seventy-two techniques of the Shaolin Temple once more to your disciples? …You say they don’t understand even when shown? Then why do you keep asking them to watch? You rascal!
-Have you considered undertaking a martial pilgrimage instead? I hear the Wudang Sect’s momentum lately reaches toward the heavens. If you were to visit them for learning, surely that would surpass wall-facing cultivation… No, not those fellows—I meant the Taoists! Taoists! Why do you curse like that, truly.
-Puhaha! Severing afflictions through wall-facing meditation? You should at least wash away the stench of alcohol before speaking—then you might have a hair’s breadth of persuasiveness. Just eat meat to your heart’s content and emerge… Hehe, surely not. You are called Divine Fist, after all—how could such a thing be? Please do move your feet aside.
-Amitabha Buddha, if the common people of the world knew what manner of person Divine Fist is, our afflictions would surely diminish. What? Why do you ask… Do you truly not understand? Of course it would fit perfectly to say you represent Shaolin Temple… Hand! Why are you raising your hand…!
All were memories from an era when my cultivation was shallow.
‘Hmm, foolish fellows.’
Having entered late in life—after my character had been formed in the secular world—I had come to be called Divine Fist, transcending even the title of the Realm’s Greatest Fist by the age of fifty.
How could I be deluded after my resolve had been set?
Moreover, the conviction I held was: Kill the Buddha, kill the Patriarch.
A Buddhist teaching that says: when you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha; when you meet your master, kill your master.
Though it appears heretical at first glance, its true meaning is this: to achieve genuine Buddhist enlightenment, disregard whatever concepts stand in your way.
‘A righteous teaching indeed.’
Thus, by slaying the countless concepts that bound me and realizing my Buddhist path, I had reached this moment.
Today, I had finally awakened that I stood on the threshold of Nirvana itself.
Yet… I am not a Taoist, so I should not be ascending to immortality, and yet what is this celestial qi pouring forth from my entire being?
‘Ah, so it is thus.’
A satisfied smile naturally arose.
All streams return to their source.
It is said that not only all waters but countless currents ultimately converge as one in the ocean.
I had believed martial arts were no exception, but could it be that Buddhism and Taoism, when perfected, converge into a single current?
Laughter flowed from successive revelations.
‘Amitabha Buddha.’
I gathered my scattered mind as stray thoughts threatened to intrude.
Kabooooom!
In that instant, inner energy erupted from my dantian like a surging fountain, racing violently through all three meridian pathways—the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, the Twelve Primary Channels, and the entire network of my body.
The majestic dharmic force stimulated my lower dantian, circulated several times through my spine, then surged upward without obstruction, swirling around the Baihui point at the crown of my head.
Boom!
As the energy pierced through my dantian like a thunderbolt, an even more formidable power flooded every inch of my being.
‘So that’s what it was.’
The moment my eyes opened, flooded with sudden liberation.
Flash!
Golden radiance blazed throughout the cave before gradually fading away.
Within my dimming consciousness, a long-forgotten memory surfaced.
Hyegong, the North Star of the martial realm, Abbot of the Thousand Year Shaolin Temple.
A venerable sage who led the world from the forefront of the martial world, weathering countless storms.
My teacher who had given me countless lessons, and my senior brother—as steadfast as a pillar supporting my every step.
—Abbot, how could you doubt my Buddhist faith?
An aged voice erupted from the monk revered by all people under heaven.
—Doubt? I said that even a Martial Monk who entered late must not neglect the Buddhist Dharma. Is the command to uphold the precepts so difficult to comprehend?!
—Why speak such rigid words again… Don’t you see how such narrow thinking creates a rift between the sentient beings and us?
—….
—Though our paths may differ, the way I walk is also the Buddhist path. You still don’t realize that I acted first before sentient beings could commit transgressions… How did you ever reach that position?
—What, what did you say? You demonic creature…!
—Watch how my Buddhist path guides countless sentient beings!
The Abbot’s face as he watched me comes to mind.
An expression that seemed to say, ‘What kind of wretch is this?’
Yet beneath that disdain lay genuine affection.
‘…Abbot.’
Even if I reach it first, please do not be troubled.
You know better than anyone that my martial prowess is sufficient to govern the realm….
The Abbot needs only five more years.
No, fifteen more years of devoted practice would surely be enough….
…Perhaps even that will not suffice.
Thus my consciousness, hanging by a thread, was severed.
* * *
Suddenly, I felt something brush against my arm.
Damp and cool, yet strangely oppressive….
Was nirvana always this humid?
I had expected a state of utmost tranquility and gentleness, yet this too proved to be mere prejudice.
‘Amitabha Buddha.’
In that moment, as naturally as breathing, I began to release my narrow attachments.
Whoosh.
I hastily opened my eyes at the strange sensation that came again.
Soon bright light flooded in, dazzling my vision.
‘…What, what on earth is happening?’
Hadn’t my consciousness departed from my body?
Through the haze of what felt like a dream, a figure that had been obscure gradually came into focus.
A delicate woman with deep brown eyes and hair braided with meticulous care.
Naturally, this was no face one would encounter within a temple. What made it even more bewildering was that this woman was wiping my arm with cloth.
“Who, who are you, miss?!”
The woman’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Sir?!”
I answered with a voice tinged with confusion.
“Pardon? Sir? Even with the deepest cultivation, I could hardly be compared to the ancient sages….”
But why does my voice sound like this?
Like that of a sickly person—hoarse and fractured?
The woman’s expression suddenly brightened, and she uttered words I could not comprehend.
“You’ve finally awakened! I’m so relieved.”
What was she saying? The young woman seemed so consumed by inexplicable worry that she was speaking nonsense.
‘But why is it so cold….’
In that instant, my mind snapped awake as if struck by lightning.
‘Cold?!’
Since acquiring such formidable inner energy, I had never felt cold.
Pushing aside my confusion, I examined my body, which felt strangely hollow and cool.
‘What, what is this?!’
Looking down, my once-magnificent musculature had vanished entirely, replaced by a withered, skeletal frame.
‘My muscles….’
Despair washed over me. Where had the traces of my ascetic training gone—the evidence of climbing Songshan while bearing boulders the size of houses?
And this emaciated body—what was this?!
Not only that, but the calluses on my palms and the countless small scars had vanished without a trace.
As I clenched and unclenched my fists, I noticed the clothes I wore were unfamiliar.
Black sleeves with an ample cut, adorned with elegant embroidered patterns, and a sash tied at the waist—garments that only young nobles would wear….
Rustle.
As I turned my head in bewilderment, something obscured my vision.
‘…!!’
Setting aside everything else, this one thing….
Something absolutely impossible had occurred.
‘This, this is surely….’
My eyes filled with shock.
With trembling hands, I felt it, and there was no doubt.
‘Hair?!’
I had sometimes harbored a secret desire to grow it….
But wasn’t this far too sudden?
‘…A demon must surely be at work.’
I had believed I had severed all afflictions and attained liberation, yet it seemed that was not the case at all.
Still, I deliberately stroked my long hair with a solemn expression.
‘Could such a thing even happen?’
Had I fallen under some sorcery without realizing it?
The Woman’s expression gradually hardened.
“Master, Master—are you all right? Why are you touching your hair like that… Oh! This is no time for that. I’ll fetch the Physician at once.”
She rushed toward the door, then spun back and cried out.
“I’ll be back shortly, so please don’t strain yourself and rest for a moment!”
“Eh?”
I was utterly bewildered.
Who on earth was this Woman? And why was my body like this?
My gaze, which had been following the Woman’s retreating figure, shifted to the unfamiliar surroundings of the Chamber.
Even to my untrained eye, the furnishings scattered throughout appeared precious and rare.
As I turned my head repeatedly to survey the interior, I discovered a bronze mirror placed beside the bed.
‘…!!’
The reflection staring back at me was vastly different from before.
Beneath dark brows lay eyes as profound as still lakes, sharp cheekbones and a graceful jawline, skin so translucent it seemed to glow.
‘Heavens, such a beautiful man existed in this world.’
Even to one who had entered the Buddhist Dharma, this visage stirred wonder.
My gaze, which had been examining my lips, rose upward.
Carefully.
Slowly, lest it should vanish.
‘It, it’s there!’
I had not been mistaken.
There was hair gleaming with a lustrous sheen as if sculpted from jade.
Was this what it felt like?
I bent and pulled at the strands, testing their resilience.
The elasticity of the hair beneath my fingertips and the subtle ache when the scalp was pulled felt both strange and strangely welcome.
And soon I felt the hair growing cool against my skin.
“Sigh….”
Now I seemed to understand what had happened.
‘…Is this rebirth?’
In truth, I was uncertain whether this could even be called rebirth, but no other word came to mind.
‘So I ultimately failed to achieve Nirvana.’
At least I had been reborn as a human and not as livestock.
‘After all, having entered the Buddhist Dharma and accumulated merit through endless practice, becoming livestock would make no sense.’
I shook my head and surveyed my surroundings.
Rebirth or not, where on earth was I?
Based on the Chamber’s furnishings and the clothes I wore, it was clear I belonged to a wealthy household, but….
Crash!
A commotion erupted from outside.
“Hurry in! Hurry! The young master has awakened!”
The woman who had gone to fetch the Physician returned moments later, dragging a man with her.
The Physician bent at the waist and cried out.
And I snapped to attention as if struck by lightning.
“The Heavenly Demon Returns! Ten Thousand Demons Bow in Submission! I pay respects to the Third Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Cult!”
“…What?!”
My entire body convulsed at the blasphemous words that assaulted my ears.
“W-what are you saying?”
“Gasp. My apologies, young master. I rushed here so hastily that I failed to observe proper courtesy….”
“What do you mean by that?!”
The man startled and cried out again.
“T-the Heavenly Demon Cult is Invincible! Radiance Illuminates the Realm! I pay respects to Cheon So-hyun, the Third Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Cult!”
Cold sweat trickled down my spine.
It was a complete misunderstanding.
I hadn’t been possessed by a demon….
‘Damn it, what is this?’
I had become a demon.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————