Heavenly Demon Divine Saint - Chapter 106

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 106
“I’ll be able to meet them soon.”
On the winding fork in the path halfway up Songshan, Cheon So-hyun steadied his breathing.
‘Come on, you stubborn bastard.’
Jin Gong-han had left with the credential tablet after merely saying to wait a moment.
Which meant there was a Shaolin monk somewhere on Songshan who could verify the authenticity of the tablet. The thought that he would soon meet his senior brothers filled his heart with a mixture of anticipation and worry.
‘I hope they’re all safe.’
No—they had to be safe. Whatever had happened, whatever circumstances existed, he could only hope they were unharmed as he waited for Jin Gong-han.
How much time had passed like that?
Jin Gong-han appeared. Emerging from atop the cliff, he gestured for me to follow.
“Oh, it seems the conversation went well. See? What did I tell you? So now where should we go…”
Before the words could even finish, Jin Gong-han’s form scattered like blue smoke. He departed without a single word.
“…”
Bewildered, Cheon So-hyun stared into empty space before deploying his lightness technique to chase after him.
As the distance gradually narrowed, Jin Gong-han suddenly accelerated. It was a speed like a violent gale—easily twice what it had been before.
‘Damn that bastard…’
I had thought he was at least a man of propriety, but when did he become so utterly rude?
Whoooosh!
Cheon So-hyun unobstructed the path along the mountain with Unweighted Crossing, closing the distance once more.
“Listen here, Daoist. You’ve confirmed the credential tablet is genuine and come back, haven’t you? It seems Shaolin has accepted me as a guest, so why must we leave like this?”
Jin Gong-han turned his head sideways and shot me a look. His gaze, revealed beneath the bamboo hat, was cold.
“Nothing about your identity has been clarified yet. Not your name Cheon Hwa, not your origins—nothing has been revealed as truth. The only certainty is that you infiltrated the Bongmunhan Sect.”
“…”
“If you don’t want your head to roll, follow quietly.”
Jin Gong-han deployed the Cloud Treading Technique and advanced with casual grace. His footsteps brushed lightly across the leaves.
Cheon So-hyun swallowed a bitter laugh. Watching that wretch—the one who used to follow me around calling “Senior Brother, Senior Brother”—suddenly put on airs, a smoldering anger began to kindle within me.
‘Amitabha Buddha.’
To his provocative movements that seemed to say “follow if you can,” Cheon So-hyun drew out even more elasticity from the Unweighted Crossing.
How long did we race through the mountain paths like that?
A strange sensation suddenly pressed down upon me, and Cheon So-hyun’s brow furrowed.
‘What is this…?’
My mind grew hazy as though wandering through a dream.
My entire body felt heavy as if sinking into a swamp, and with each breath, an unpleasant sensation burned through my chest.
‘The air quality is strange. There’s something… an unpleasant aura mixed in.’
The uneasy sensation I had felt when climbing Songshan continued to intensify.
Where exactly was this place?
‘…Has he set up a formation? Or is that stubborn fool disrupting my senses with his qi?’
Then Jin Gong-han interrupted my thoughts.
“You run quite well. I thought you’d fall behind soon enough.”
“Falling behind doesn’t suit my temperament. More importantly, the mist is growing thicker—are we going the right way?”
“You’re on the right path. You’ve only just begun, so if you’re going to whine, quit now. Before you waste any more steps.”
“Waste steps?”
Cheon So-hyun let out a dry laugh.
“If I was going to give up now, I wouldn’t have even crossed the Mountain Gate. We should move faster—don’t dawdle.”
“Hold on. If you keep showing off like this…”
Whoosh!
Cheon So-hyun bolted forward like a wild beast, closing the distance in an instant. As they drew level, Jin Gong-han’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s a movement style I’ve never seen before. It looks like a rare absolute technique from Jianghu—where did you learn it?”
“I taught myself.”
“…Self-taught?”
“There’s nothing else I can say about it. Besides, it’s laughable to announce the name of a martial technique before displaying it.”
“Then how did you receive the nameplate?”
“I received some instruction from Hye Gwang in the past.”
Cheon So-hyun met Jin Gong-han’s skeptical gaze steadily and nodded.
“In any case, receiving instruction is a fact, so I can be called his successor. Perspective on martial arts, my own values—I learned many things from him.”
“Nonsense. I’ve exchanged words with your senior brother several times, yet I’ve never heard mention of you.”
“You’re saying something amusing.”
“…What?”
“No matter how close you are to someone, you can’t possibly know every move Hye Gwang makes, can you?”
Jin Gong-han fell silent.
It was true. He’d heard that Hye Gwang would slip out of the temple on any pretext, making it impossible even for Shaolin to fully account for his whereabouts.
Because of his peculiar meddlesome nature, he was a senior brother who had forged countless karmic connections—both inauspicious and auspicious—in secret, enough to form mountains.
“Then why did you come all this way? Why now, and why did you enter the Mountain Gate through such crude methods?”
“That doesn’t seem like something I need to explain to you.”
Jin Gong-han glared at him with a sharp gaze. In those eyes that shimmered with azure light, a hint of killing intent flickered.
“What?”
“I’m not sure why you’re here, but this is an internal matter of Shaolin, isn’t it?”
At his blunt tone suggesting there was no reason to explain to an outsider, Jin Gong-han’s eyes twitched slightly.
‘He’s just like him.’
Even when caught in a mistake, rather than losing spirit, he carried himself with shameless confidence—unmistakably like Senior Brother Hye Gwang.
From their first exchange, Jin Gong-han had suspected he might be Hye Gwang’s successor. The more they spoke, the more he couldn’t shake the resemblance.
‘So you were secretly raising a disciple after all.’
This realization made Jin Gong-han’s mood even more unpleasant.
“I’ll increase the pace. Stay focused.”
Whoosh!
Jin Gong-han surged forward even faster. Cheon So-hyun swallowed a curse and pursued him closely.
Only when they reached the bottom of a long staircase did Jin Gong-han’s steps finally halt.
Cheon So-hyun gazed up the stairs, his brow furrowing.
“There are Shaolin monks here?”
A temple came into view.
The abandoned temple, once destroyed during past conflicts and left unused, had been surprisingly well maintained.
For some reason, the buildings scattered in this remote corner of Songshan bore the marks of careful cultivation, retaining the warmth of human presence.
Jin Gong-han watched Cheon So-hyun in silence.
“…?”
More precisely, he was observing the figure approaching from behind him.
“You’ve worked hard, Jin Dojo.”
At that familiar voice, Cheon So-hyun’s shoulders stiffened rigidly. As he slowly turned his head, his eyes widened as if they might tear open.
“…!!”
A Martial Monk in neat robes was approaching.
The face was vivid and tangible, having been recalled countless times.
The gentle smile, the full beard flowing downward, the brightly shining eyes, and the clear, infinitely profound presence.
‘He’s safe!’
Overwhelming emotion surged into Cheon So-hyun’s face.
“Abbot!!”
Hyegong. My senior brother.
Cheon So-hyun approached with a bright smile, as if rushing toward him.
“You’re perfectly fine, so why have you been hiding away so completely? And why have you abandoned the Mountain Gate….”
But the words pouring out could not continue to the end.
“Did you bring Hye Gwang’s memorial tablet as an offering?”
Hyegong addressed him with a composed demeanor.
Cheon So-hyun’s expression froze instantly.
It was unfamiliar.
That gaze, devoid of even a trace of affection, was profoundly strange.
“….”
That cautious attitude felt sharper than Jin Gong-han’s sword. Those eyes, looking at him as if at a stranger, carved into his chest.
“…Yes. My name is Cheon Hwa.”
As Cheon So-hyun offered a false name and prepared to bow respectfully, Hyegong stopped him with a gentle smile.
“There’s no need for such excessive courtesy. Though I am called the Abbot of Shaolin, I am merely a monk with much to learn and many shortcomings in various ways.”
He took a half-bow as if to say he was nothing remarkable.
“It is an honor to meet you. I am Hyegong.”
His polite response, as if greeting an ordinary guest, sent a chill settling into a corner of Cheon So-hyun’s chest.
It was Hyegong who had taken him under the Previous Abbot’s wing, taught him, urged him forward, and awakened him to live righteously.
-You thundering ruffian!
Before being the Abbot of Shaolin, Hyegong was his senior brother and teacher, his elder brother and father.
“…It is an honor to meet you.”
Cheon So-hyun’s voice cracked dryly.
Only then did I truly understand it. That the Abbot Senior Brother and I were now strangers. That we had become others who must maintain a certain formality.
Even the name Cheon Hwa was a newly created alias to evade the eyes of the Demonic Sect. No, from the beginning, even the name Cheon So-hyun was nothing but an alias to him.
As Cheon So-hyun stared blankly at him, Hyegong spoke with kindness.
“You must have endured much. You’ve traveled a long distance, so let us first catch your breath. I shall guide you inside.”
Hyegong looked at Jin Gong-han. His gaze seemed to ask if he would join them, but Jin Gong-han quietly bowed and withdrew.
Footsteps echoed softly.
The two men began climbing the stairs side by side.
Hyegong asked with his hands clasped behind his back.
“I never expected a visitor while our gates were closed. May I ask how you came to know Hye Gwang?”
Cheon So-hyun paused before answering.
“Simply put, he taught me various things, saying it would be a waste to leave such a talented fellow rotting away in some remote corner. I learned from him about martial arts, the Buddhist path, perspectives, and values. In my heart, I regard him as my teacher.”
“Then you came after hearing news of his entering nirvana?”
“Yes. But Abbot, please speak more casually. It feels terribly uncomfortable to hear you speak so formally.”
Hyegong met his gaze. For some reason, his eyes held genuine discomfort and confusion. Deep afflictions seemed to weigh upon him.
“Very well, I shall do so.”
Hyegong carefully examined Cheon So-hyun from head to toe.
His physical balance, gait, appearance, eyes, and the countless sword scars etched upon his body. The scars were indeed the most striking feature.
“It seems the Jin Dojo has been rather harsh with you. Not out of malice, I’m sure, so I hope you’ll understand.”
“A few scars like these heal with a bit of saliva. Pay it no mind.”
“Ha, youth is indeed a wonderful thing. So, what reason brought you to risk danger and come all this way?”
“I simply felt suffocated and came to see.”
“Explain in detail.”
“I heard that Shaolin closed its gates to honor my teacher’s entry into nirvana. But it seemed like a closure he himself would not have desired.”
Hyegong nodded slowly.
“He was one who shunned empty formalities and preferred to be at ease with people, so he would certainly disapprove.”
At that response, a question that had been held within Cheon So-hyun spilled forth.
“Yet you decided to close the gates despite knowing all this.”
Hyegong smiled instead of answering. His expression was calm, as if it were simply a necessary process.
“Can you tell me more about Hye Gwang?”
“Is there something specific you wish to know?”
“Many things. What did he say about the Buddhist path? I’m curious what he told you about Shaolin as well.”
There was no intent to probe him. Genuine curiosity gleamed in Hyegong’s eyes.
“Simply put, he said the place was full of suffocating people.”
“Suffocating?”
“Yes. He said the Buddhist path is about awakening oneself without coercion, yet everyone there was bound by rules as if bewitched. He found it stifling in many ways and said that even climbing Songshan would yield no great enlightenment.”
“Ha, how very like him.”
Hyegong burst into laughter. He nodded as if savoring Cheon So-hyun’s words, chuckled softly, and continued walking quietly.
“We’re almost there. Watch your step on the stones.”
Shortly after, as Cheon So-hyun entered deeper into the abandoned temple after climbing the final steps, emotion flashed across his eyes.
Familiar faces filled the space.
“Abbot Senior Brother, you’ve arrived?”
Hye Jin, Hye Gak, the master of the Arhat Hall, the master of the Discipline Hall, the scholar monks, and even the young novices of Shaolin—all were gathered there.
Cheon So-hyun confirmed each familiar face one by one.
‘Everyone is safe!’
Yet joy was fleeting. An uncanny atmosphere sent unease crawling down my spine.
Strangely, exhaustion lay thick across the faces of my senior brothers. As I focused my perception, I felt their vital energy continuously draining from their entire bodies.
‘What is this? Why are they positioned like that?’
The vital energy seeped into the ground, then faded, only to repeat the cycle.
As I examined their formation, the flow of energy, and the directional alignment, I froze as though struck by lightning.
My voice trembled as I asked.
“A-Abbot… What is this? What are you doing right now?”
Hyegong answered quietly upon seeing my expression.
“It seems I taught you this as well. As you can see, it is the One Hundred Eight Arhat Formation.”
My expression twisted grimly.
The One Hundred Eight Arhat Formation was Shaolin’s most formidable array technique.
Occupying one hundred eight directional points, it unleashed a presence as immovable as Mount Tai—an absolutely invincible formation.
The world often dismissed the notion of many against few as unremarkable, but the true power of the One Hundred Eight Arhat Formation lay in its ability to oppose any enemy whatsoever.
Whether it be a demon claiming supremacy across the realm or armies numbering in the hundreds of thousands, if Shaolin’s martial monks united their will and combined their strength through the One Hundred Eight Arhat Formation, they could surely withstand it.
Which made this situation all the more strange.
‘…The One Hundred Eight Arhat Formation? Why?’
What exactly were they defending against right now?
What could possibly demand such an expenditure of their vital essence?
My pupils trembled as though the earth itself were quaking.
‘Surely not…’
Thump! Thump!
My heart pounded violently. My labored breathing now choked like swallowing a mouthful of thorns.
An ominous premonition. A foreboding so sinister it was suffocating.
I gazed at Hyegong, desperately hoping my fears were unfounded.
“Why… why are you deploying the formation?”
Hyegong took a step forward.
“It will be faster to see for yourself. Come this way.”

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