Heavenly Demon Divine Saint - Chapter 109

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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 109
Was it inevitable? Or a stroke of impossible fortune?
Hye Gwang’s Heart Seal.
A Buddhist six-harmony perfect technique bearing the same name as the Divine Fist of the Realm.
Despite its simple utility of conveying one’s intent completely, it consumed vital energy excessively and was so profoundly difficult that no one had ever mastered it deeply—a lost art.
Thus, many encountered it for the first time, yet none questioned the identity of the voice.
“Senior Brother Hye Gwang!”
“How is this possible?! You entered nirvana….”
[Frustrating fools.]
“Pardon?”
[There exists a view visible only from the summit. Explaining it to those barely halfway up the mountain is nothing but wasted breath.]
Cheon So-hyun took in the faces of his senior brothers—a chaos of confusion, astonishment, joy, and sorrow all mingled together, their minds adrift.
Having continued wall-facing meditation without proper farewells, this moment alone warranted honest candor.
“Yet such harmony is not even found in the scriptures….”
[Ah, this monk. You understand how skin can deflect blades? Prattling on won’t bring comprehension to what lies beyond understanding. Do not waste precious moments on meaningless questions. This is our parting.]
The voice echoing in their minds made the Martial Monks hold their breath. The rough, exasperated tone matched Hye Gwang from their memories precisely.
“Then, have you truly entered eternal nirvana?”
[It depends on perspective. If eternal nirvana means the perfection of non-action, then as you see, I have achieved it.]
The Vajra Dharma Body—nirvana achieved through non-action perfected to its extreme. Undeniable proof stood before their eyes.
[Behold. What do you make of my form?]
Hyemyung gazed at the Sari radiating golden light. There existed the pinnacle of non-action, the ideal spoken of as perfection itself.
“Remarkable. That one who achieved the Vajra Dharma Body would appear in this age…. I thought perhaps if anyone could, it might be you, Senior Brother, yet I still deemed it impossible. As you know, spiritual cultivation is equally vital to such a state….”
[Indeed. You fool. You are among my few remaining afflictions. Had I shattered your skull into pieces, I might have found some relief, yet even that eludes me.]
Hyemyung, gazing at the Sari with trembling eyes, let out a hollow laugh.
Though standing at such a lofty height, his manner remained informal and intimate.
Hyemyung’s eyes reddened.
“What should we do? With you gone, Senior Brother…we are truly lost.”
[First, you must distinguish between practicing austerity for cultivation and practicing cultivation for austerity.]
“Distinguish?”
[Yes. Had I reached nirvana through wasting away, you would have mistaken starvation for the path to enlightenment. That is not so. As you see, austerity bordering on self-denial is not the path to awakening.]
The Martial Monks examined Hye Gwang’s Sari carefully.
Truly magnificent frame. A body filled with muscle and strength—not the form one could achieve through hunger and self-torment.
[And you may think of me as a pillar of Shaolin, but you are mistaken.]
“Pardon?”
[Non-action, renown, achievement—I accomplished none of it by my strength alone. It was possible only through exchanging with you, teaching you, and fighting alongside you. Had I doubted you, I would never have dared dream of nirvana.]
His ability to depart lay in his trust of his senior brothers. He possessed the certainty that the void and gap he left could be filled swiftly.
[Hyemyung, the position of Arhat Hall Master is never light. Advance further in your practice. If I am gone, it must be you next.]
“…Yes, I shall bear it in mind.”
Cheon So-hyun called upon each of his brothers one by one, offering his farewell.
Some of the Martial Monks wept with bowed heads.
His senior brother’s uncharacteristic kindness made it feel devastatingly final. I wanted to smile and tell him not to worry, to say goodbye on good terms, but the words wouldn’t come.
The Martial Monks offered encouragement with smiles and sighs, exchanging farewells they hadn’t yet shared.
Their gazes naturally converged on one point. Hye Gwang seemed to be looking there as well.
[Senior Brother Abbot. Do you have nothing to say? Why do you stand there like a stone monument? You know this is the end.]
Until now, Hyegong had listened in silence, simply watching as if to let them finish their unspoken words.
When he finally spoke, his voice was severely strained.
“I still dream of it.”
[Dream of what?]
“Yes. That your ordination was an elaborate prank we went to great lengths to prepare, and that you’d burst through the Mountain Gate drunk after missing the moment to reveal it. That kind of dream.”
[….]
“I would have been angry, yet also welcomed you with joy.”
Hyegong paused, composing himself with measured breaths.
“Was it because you were always beside us, or did we grow complacent believing you would always be there? Only after your ordination did we finally understand the weight you carried.”
The First Under Heaven Sect. The Thousand-Year Shaolin. The Northern Star of Mount Tai.
It was not the Abbot who bore the greatest burden of Shaolin’s fame and legacy. It was Hye Gwang himself who stood at the highest place, facing endless questions, suspicions, and challenges.
Emotions suppressed throughout the closure came pouring forth uncontrollably.
“Yet there are still mountains of things we wished to do together. How could you leave so heartlessly?”
Hyegong’s voice trembled as if losing its way.
His throat tightened.
“Why did you disappear without showing your face once, without even a proper farewell?”
It was a strange sight indeed.
Unbecoming of a Buddhist of deep cultivation. Words no Abbot of Shaolin, called the holy land of the Buddhist Order, should utter.
For meetings and partings are inevitable, and not to dwell on them is the principal teaching of the Buddhist Dharma.
Yet no one could blame Hyegong.
For he too was a man before a Buddhist, and a father who had lost his senior brother and family.
Hyegong’s eyes reddened with bloodshot veins.
“Was our bond so light to you? Is that why you hurried away so?
[Senior Brother….]
Cheon So-hyun’s shoulders trembled as he bit his lips.
There was still so much left to say. I wanted to speak with my senior brother for a long time.
But even now, I could feel my spiritual power scattering.
There was little time left.
[Senior Brother, the moment of parting comes to all. Do not be shaken by what is inevitable. Did you not teach that bonds are formed and severed as a matter of course?]
“Yes, that’s true. But human hearts change.”
[Some things do not change.]
“…?”
[The bonds between people seem broken, yet they reconnect. The connection I left behind—does it not remain?]
Hyegong’s gaze naturally turned toward Cheon So-hyun. His blood-soaked robes and trembling limbs.
His grave condition was evident, yet his eyes still held unwavering resolve.
The connection left by the Master, the miracle shown by the Thousand Patrons, had created this moment. It had granted the farewell he had always dreamed of.
“Yes… you’re right. The bond was never severed.”
This truth became an immeasurable comfort to Hyegong and his senior brothers.
[I will watch over you. Please stay healthy, and do open your heart to the world. One can only live as a true person when the heart is open.]
“Yes, you’ve done well. If there is a next life, let us meet again.”
[Indeed. Then I shall be your senior brother.]
Hyegong forced the corners of his trembling mouth upward into a smile.
“…You stubborn fool. These times have been joyful.”
His smile carried a warm affection that seemed to say: do not worry.
“Go well, Hye Gwang.”
[Yes, I too have been joyful thanks to you.]
Then.
“Is everyone safe!”
A loud voice echoed from the Cave entrance.
“What, what is happening here?”
It was Jin Gong-han. He had belatedly grasped the chaos unfolding on Songshan and come rushing with all his speed using lightness of body.
“What is this earthquake shaking Songshan, and why have the formations been abandoned while you gather in the Cave….”
Then he trembled as the majestic qi filling the Chamber washed over him.
The first thing that caught his eye was the Martial Monks gazing at Sari as though witnessing a miracle.
[Jin Gong-han. You senseless fool. You’re late.]
At that familiar voice, Jin Gong-han started violently. He recognized the speaker at once.
“B-brother? Brother, is that you?!”
[Yes. It is I.]
He bit his tongue to confirm it was not a hallucination.
“No… Have you become a ghost?! How on earth….”
[Be quiet. If you have words you wish to speak, pour them out. I will listen.]
His tone suggested time was running short.
Jin Gong-han’s jaw trembled. From the Martial Monks’ reactions, from that tone—he could not say how, but he was certain it was Hye Gwang.
“Why!! Damn it, why did you leave in such haste!”
His eyes reddened in an instant. This too was the moment he had long yearned for. Like a dam bursting under accumulated pressure, the words he had held within spilled out uncontrollably.
“You could have shared a drink and given us time to make sense of it all! Why did you leave without even a farewell! What are we who remain supposed to do!”
[Everything I wished to convey, I have spoken in ordinary times. I have lived speaking all that I wished to say, so there is nothing strange about parting.]
“But… but….”
Jin Gong-han crumbled like a child, tears streaming down his face.
The sharp demeanor he had shown before Cheon So-hyun was nowhere to be found.
“Damn it, I don’t know what’s happening, but I wanted to say thank you! Thank you for making this senseless fool into a proper person, when I was uncertain if my path was right!”
[Yes. If flowing with the current is the Way, then your life is not without merit. Live comforting yourself.]
Jin Gong-han could not answer, only sobbing.
Since childhood he had formed a bond with Hye Gwang and followed him with all his heart.
Whenever he grew weary of Do-mun’s rigid teachings, he would find himself drawn to Shaolin to spend time with Hye Gwang.
And each time they met, he found great solace. An unconventional Buddhist. That fierce temperament laid bare, yet carrying oneself with such dignity—it had always been his strength.
“Senior Brother… Senior Brother! Will I be able to see you again?”
[Of course. I’ll watch from afar, so tend carefully to the lotus seed I’ve left behind. I ask this of you… and now I must take my leave. All of you, live well.]
“Senior Brother!”
“Hye Gwang Senior Brother!”
“Brother!”
Everyone cried out in unison and rushed toward the Sari, but Hye Gwang’s vital essence had already completely dissipated.
The golden radiance that had poured forth faded, and the body lay peacefully asleep with eyes gently closed.
And Cheon So-hyun, having exhausted every ounce of his inner strength, staggered and collapsed.
“Master Cheon!”
Hyegong, Jin Gong-han, and the senior brothers of Shaolin all reached out simultaneously.
Hyegong caught Cheon So-hyun and carefully lifted him into his arms.
“You’ve endured much, Master.”
The light in Hyegong’s eyes as he gazed upon Cheon So-hyun was not merely stained with sorrow. The same was true for the other senior brothers.
No one was ignorant of what miraculous deeds this young man had performed for Shaolin, nor how precious this moment had been.
“Truly a precious connection. Take him to the guest chamber.”
“Yes!”
* * *
A space suffused with the fragrance of wood.
Drawn by the soothing aroma, Cheon So-hyun struggled to lift his heavy eyelids.
“Nngh…”
A groan escaped unbidden. Every part of his body ached as though it had been struck repeatedly by a hammer.
“So you’ve finally awakened.”
Cheon So-hyun turned his head.
Jin Gong-han sat perched upon a chair, looking down at him. The melancholy expression from before had vanished, replaced by a more relaxed countenance.
“How long have I been lying here?”
“This is the third day.”
Cheon So-hyun’s eyes trembled slightly. Time was precarious. Having only just awakened, he felt the immediate thought that further delay would be dangerous.
“How are the other Martial Monks faring? And why is a Wudang Sect Taoist here in the first place?”
“Everyone is occupied with managing the aftermath. That’s why I, having little to do, have been caring for you.”
“So why are you at Shaolin?”
At the blunt tone, Jin Gong-han’s brow twitched momentarily. He drew a deep breath before answering.
“…I came to Shaolin to arrange a meeting with your Master.”
“A meeting?”
“Yes. There were matters to discuss at Wudang. I came in person to see an old face after so long, but he had entered wall-facing meditation. I thought he’d break through soon, so I waited idly—and then I heard news of his passing.”
“So you’ve been here ever since?”
“I have. Being within Shaolin’s Mountain Gate, I could feel the chaos directly. The Martial Monks were too occupied collecting the Sari to notice… and amid that turmoil, repugnant things began to entangle one by one.”
Cheon So-hyun’s brow furrowed deeply.
“Specifically, who are you referring to? The lackeys of the Black Path?”
Jin Gong-han regarded him for a moment before speaking. As the successor of Hye Gwang, this was a matter he ought to know.
“Two pillars newly incorporated into the Dark Lotus Society. The Ghost Soul Sect and the Black Spirit Sect. They’re the ones who’ve seized the position your Senior Brother destroyed.”
Jin Gong-han rose from his seat.
“Now that I have some leisure time, I’m thinking of delving deeper into matters. I’m planning to return to the Main Sect by this route… will you come with me?”
“Hmm? You mean Wudang?”
“That’s right.”
Cheon So-hyun looked up at him. Unlike before, his gaze now carried a warmth that spoke of gratitude—as if he wished to repay a debt.
“I appreciate the offer, but not now. This isn’t the time for me to wander about. I need time to stabilize my realm as well.”
“I see.”
Jin Gong-han drew a crude token from his breast and offered it.
“Then take this and visit Wudang someday. You’ll receive quite distinguished treatment.”
Cheon So-hyun accepted the token without hesitation and placed it in his breast.
“I will.”
Jin Gong-han was a swordmaster whose skill was recognized enough to maintain the position of elder at Wudang, despite his indulgence in wine. It seemed this token would prove invaluable.
“Now that you’ve regained your senses, get up and be on your way.”
“Be on my way? You’re treating a patient who’s barely awakened so harshly?”
Jin Gong-han chuckled and gestured with his chin.
“I’m going to see the Abbot. It seems his resolve has hardened, so there’s reason to be hopeful.”

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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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