Chapter 215: The Nanny of the Wolf Fang Squad (5)
“No! No more treasures!”
The crazed renegade monk screamed, leaning his back against a tree, denying it vehemently.
But Seo-hwa was not one to believe him so easily. Every time she took a step closer, the renegade monk trembled all over.
When the distance between them closed to a single step,
her slender hand moved like a flash of lightning, tearing his robes open.
Rip!
At that moment, a small wooden box dropped to the ground.
On it, three characters were written in tiny, neat script:
Great Restoration Pill. It was a rare treasure and the ultimate medicine secretly passed down in the Shaolin Sect.
“Where did you steal this from? You crazy bald monk, you really did all kinds of things.”
“N-No! Don’t touch my treasure!”
The renegade monk launched a surprise counterattack.
A fist wrapped in a powerful force shot straight toward her. Sensing the unusual power, Seo-hwa chose to evade rather than block.
Her waist bent at a bizarre angle, and a gust of wind swept past her chest.
A moment later, a tree a hundred feet away shattered with a loud crack.
Crack!
‘The Hundred-Step Divine Fist?’
It was Shaolin’s high-level martial art, known to kill enemies a hundred steps away.
Seo-hwa calmly dodged the fierce gusts of wind that followed one after another.
After evading six gusts of wind, just as she was about to launch a counterattack, the renegade monk suddenly turned and began to flee.
“I’m not playing! Don’t follow me!”
She couldn’t just let him go. Seo-hwa picked up the Great Restoration Pill from the ground and chased after the crazed renegade monk.
Running at extreme speed, he soon entered the Shaolin Temple grounds.
Although the Four Great Vajras had said they wouldn’t allow her inside,
‘Like I care.’
She had never cared about the monks’ warnings from the start.
A fierce wind blew wherever the renegade monk and Seo-hwa passed.
Whoosh!
Even though they had entered the Shaolin Temple grounds, no martial monks were in sight. They had likely gone to the entrance to defend against the Neo-Demonic Cult.
The ordinary monks, who did not practice martial arts, tilted their heads in confusion at the sudden gale. However, it was impossible for them to capture Seo-hwa’s movement with their eyes.
Before long, the two arrived at the Grand Hall, situated at the innermost part of Shaolin Temple.
Kwang!
The thick wooden doors were blown off, and the renegade monk dashed inside.
A Buddha statue clad in a gold robe was lying on its side. It was a massive reclining Buddha statue.
“Buddha brother, help me!”
The renegade monk hid behind the Buddha, poking his head out.
Seeing a senior monk over sixty years old acting like a child was absurd. He was definitely out of his mind.
“Die quietly without showing such pathetic behavior.”
The dark current wrapping Seo-hwa’s right hand flared up. It soon transformed into the shape of a ferocious dragon.
The Eighth Form of the Black Dragon Sacred Palm: Black Dragon Descends to Earth. In terms of destructive power, this was the strongest form among her martial arts.
Soon, the black dragon unleashed from her hand flew toward the reclining Buddha, opening its maw.
She intended to crush both the Buddha and the renegade monk at once.
Boom!
If a massive bell were split in two, would it make such a sound? With a deafening roar, the reclining Buddha statue split down the middle.
Shaolin monks would have fainted if they saw this, but such things were of no concern to her.
Squeezing through the gap of the split Buddha statue, the black dragon’s fangs bit the renegade monk’s shoulder.
Crunch!
Despite bleeding from his shoulder, the renegade monk grinned foolishly.
“Hehe! Doesn’t hurt! Doesn’t hurt at all!”
Seo-hwa had already noticed it. The moment the form struck him, a golden current had flared up around his body before disappearing.
It was Shaolin’s high-level defensive art, the Vajra Qi.
“Not bad. Then I’ll make sure it really hurts from now on.”
The renegade monk gasped in horror upon seeing the two large needles Seo-hwa drew.
“No needles! I’m going home!”
The moment he finished speaking, he leaped toward the roof of the Grand Hall.
Kwang!
A hole was punched through the pavilion, and wooden debris fell like rain. Of course, not a single piece touched her body.
Just as she was about to give chase, Seo-hwa stopped and turned her head. She had spotted something that caught her interest.
A thin book was revealed between the two split halves of the reclining Buddha statue.
“What is this?”
A book hidden inside a Buddha statue. She couldn’t help but be curious about its contents.
Opening the first page, she read the following passage:
[My Buddhist name is Huike.]
Even if one had no interest in Buddhism, it was a name they would have heard at least once, even for someone from the Demonic Cult.
He was the second patriarch of Zen Buddhism, who succeeded Bodhidharma.
Intrigued, she read further:
[I was only able to become Bodhidharma’s disciple after cutting off my own arm. My life was spent with him, and I wish to leave the ultimate martial arts of Buddhism that I inherited from him here.]
It was highly interesting content.
‘It was a manual of martial arts? But why hide it here?’
Her question was immediately answered by the next passage:
[Bodhidharma said that when the world falls into chaos and crisis reaches its peak, the reclining Buddha statue will shatter. The one with fated ties will learn the Tathagata Divine Palm hidden here.]
The Tathagata Divine Palm. Was it not the legendary martial art whose very existence was uncertain? It was the strongest palm technique passed down only in legends.
[Before the Tathagata Divine Palm, no evil can refuse to submit. It can only be learned with the pure internal energy of Buddhism, and only one with a snow-white heart can execute this martial art.]
The remaining pages contained the oral formulas for the nine forms of the palm technique.
‘Pure Buddhist internal energy and an untainted, snow-white heart…’
For the Buddhist internal energy, consuming a Buddha relic from an eminent monk would suffice. The problem was a snow-white heart.
Seo-hwa immediately felt that she was not the fated owner. Even so, she had no intention of returning it to the bald monks.
‘I’ll take it for now. It might come in handy somewhere.’
She rolled up the manual of the Tathagata Divine Palm and tucked it into her sleeve.
By now, the renegade monk had disappeared without a trace, but it didn’t matter. Thanks to him, she had obtained a significant harvest, so he was forgiven.
Leaping onto the roof of the Grand Hall, Seo-hwa stealthily slipped out of the temple.
Soon, the evacuation of the monks would begin. She headed toward the Samhwang Lodge, the retreat point, as if nothing had happened.
***
A hill ten li south of the western entrance of Mount Song.
About three hundred martial artists were deployed, waiting for the signal.
Elder Mu-jin approached So-mu and asked,
“Is it not time for us to move?”
Looking up at the sky, the sunset was glowing red. The appointed time had arrived.
So-mu, who had been completely still, slowly opened his right hand.
“Let us do so.”
Hum!
The long sword hanging at the waist of his armor let out a sharp hum.
The vibrating sword unsheathed itself, flying into So-mu’s grasp.
“If you lead the vanguard, we will follow behind.”
Looking around, the martial artists of the Murim Alliance all wore solemn expressions.
It was only natural, as they were going to fight an enemy ten times their number. With such a difference, even if they held the upper hand, their internal energy would deplete first, causing them to fall.
However, the purpose of this battle was not victory.
“Our goal is to hold out, so there is no need to overdo it. I will depart first, so join me after one hour.”
This meant So-mu would hold off thousands of cultists alone for an hour.
Battles in the Murim were usually decided in an instant. To the martial artists, an hour felt like an eternity.
Abbot Jeong-myeong stepped forward with a pained expression.
“How can we send the Great General into the fires of hell alone? Since this is our sect’s matter, I will join you.”
“There is no need. I am going ahead to lower the enemy’s morale before the actual battle begins, so just watch.”
If both sides clashed head-on, their allies would suffer devastating damage.
Since the masters of the Neo-Demonic Cult had not been identified, going alone carried risks, but it was unavoidable under the circumstances.
Since the number one master of the State of So volunteered to go, the Murim Alliance had no reason to refuse.
Abbot Jeong-myeong clasped his hands and chanted,
“Amitabha. Please be careful.”
So-mu nodded to the martial artists and stepped forward.
Walking alone in the Great General’s armor in the enemy’s territory looked unusual.
The orthodox martial artists watched his retreating back with eyes full of respect.
With each step he took, his figure moved a hundred feet away. His movement technique, which transcended common sense, and his majestic presence, like a moving mountain, began to slowly lift their morale.
The cultists, who surrounded the entrance of Shaolin Temple in dozens of layers, focused their gazes on him.
“What is that guy?”
“How did he get in here?”
So-mu swept his gaze over the surroundings.
The paths, the nearby forest, and even the treetops were packed with cultists. Their attire varied widely depending on their positions.
It seemed multiple martial groups had been mobilized. The scale was reminiscent of the Great Orthodox-Demonic War.
Yet, So-mu did not flinch in the slightest. Words that did not fit the situation at all were uttered from his mouth.
“Since all of you have also come here to take the lives of others, do not feel wronged even if you die today.”
Most of the cultists stared at him blankly. They thought a madman was holding a sword and talking nonsense.
However, the cult leaders, who possessed high realms, wore serious expressions.
His refined movements, visible even in his walk, and the fact that no trace of martial arts could be felt from him, meant he had achieved at least the Return to Simplicity and Truth.
Of course, there were several who had achieved the Return to Simplicity and Truth here as well. The issue was that he showed no intimidation despite approaching alone. It was impossible without something to back it up.
In the center of the cult’s camp, an old man in a red dragon robe gestured toward someone.
“Kill him.”
A cultist with bizarre patterns carved on his face stepped forward.
“Understood!”
The cultist drew his sword and charged at So-mu. His movements showed no hesitation. It seemed he would not hesitate even to die if ordered.
He was at least a first-class master, but So-mu didn’t even spare him a glance.
The moment the distance between them closed to ten feet, a brilliant flash of light flared and vanished.
Slash!
It was the sound of something being sliced into pieces. Simultaneously, a rain of blood began to pour behind So-mu.
Thud!
Most of the cultists stared blankly, unable to comprehend what had happened. They hadn’t been able to see his movements at all.
However, the cultists who had reached the Peak Realm reacted differently. They opened their mouths wide, as if they had witnessed something shocking.
In that split second, So-mu’s sword had moved dozens of times, and only a very few could clearly perceive it.
A middle-aged man in green light armor approached the old man in the red robe and whispered,
“Grand Protector, it’s him.”
“I know.”
“To face a master of the Realm of Transformed Qi, all six elders must step forward. Please give the command.”
The man in the red robe shook his head.
“There is no need. Send the Dog Demon Squad.”
He intended to wear down So-mu’s stamina before the main battle.
The man in the green armor gestured to someone.
“Dog Demon Leader Yang-ho. I will give you the opportunity to sacrifice your life for the cult.”
“Understood!”
Behind the Dog Demon Leader, about a hundred cultists wielding crescent blades gathered.
Their hollow eyes suggested they were not in their right minds.
They simultaneously drew black pills from their robes and swallowed them. Instantly, white secretions flowed incessantly from their mouths and noses.
A moment later, they began to laugh like beasts.
“Hehehe.”
“Hahaha.”
Standing straight in front of them, So-mu watched the effects of the pills with an expressionless face.
It was definitely a medicine that devoured the consumer’s life and mind but temporarily awakened their physical abilities.
Losing interest, So-mu lowered his sword and said calmly,
“You’re trying all sorts of things. If you’re ready, come at me.”