Chapter 176: The Buddhist Star (2)
Chapter 176: The Buddhist Star (2)
Mount Song, Henan Province.
Made up of Taishi Mountain and Shaoshi Mountain, it had at least 36 different peaks.
The Central Great Mountain was home to the Shaolin Temple and generally considered the birthplace of Zen Buddhism.
Around the time the battle between the Cult of the Heavenly Demon and the Martial Alliance was in full swing elsewhere, there was a tapping sound from a peak on Mount Song.
Tak-tak-tak.
It was somehow a dull sound.
If someone had come to the Shaolin Temple, they would have thought so too.
Instead of doing anything else so late into the night, someone was knocking on a wooden bowl.
But who knew, this dull sound did not mean that someone was practicing how to drum on a table.
Also, the sound of these taps was spreading throughout the mountains…
Tak-tak-tak.
Surprisingly, the source was an old man who looked over seventy.
Sure he was tapping a wooden bowl, but how and why was he tapping on the bowl like that?
Perhaps it might be meditation rather than a proper martial technique.
Indeed, it was a form of meditation.
Such resonance should not have been produced, but the actor was someone at the top of the Shaolin, at the top of Murim.
He was a Semi-Divine Being.
The Buddhist Star knocked on the bowl for a while longer.
He did not forget to say “Amitabha Buddha” while he was at it.
Behind him, a shadowy figure blurred into view.
It was a middle-aged man.
“Namo Buddhaya,” the man bowed his head and greeted.
This man was the current leader of the Shaolin Temple and the successor of the ‘Hundred Step Divine Fist’ (百步神拳) technique, named Hye Gwang.
Once Hye Gwang appeared, the Buddhist Star stopped knocking on the wooden bowl. He placed the bowl down on the table.
“Haha, no fun. It is no fun.”
“Are you doing that for the sake of worshiping Buddha or for entertainment?”
The Buddhist Star chuckled. Stroking his beard, which was long like a carpet, he asked, “Do you persevere to become a Buddha, or do you persevere to serve the Buddha?”
Hye Gwang froze.
Bodhisattvas wanted to become a Buddha by gaining enlightenment. However, after respecting the Buddha for such a long time, he had gained the heart to serve him.
The man hastily bowed. “I made a mistake, Amhitabha.”
The Buddhist Star smiled. “It is enough that you know.”
He reached out as he spoke and a bowl in one corner of the room came flying into his palm.
It was a bowl of Buddhahood.
It was not just any bowl, but one that had been passed down from master to disciple.
The Buddhist Star picked up a handful of uncooked rice from the bowl and shoved it into his mouth.
Then he began to chew.
That was the Buddhist Star’s dinner.
Hye Gwang had come to the Buddhist Star for a reason, but waited for the man to finish eating.
Finally, the Buddhist Star finished all of the raw rice and emptied the bowl of cold water on the side.
“Thank you for the food!”
A handful or raw rice and a bowl of water. The Buddhist Star would say that any meal was a good meal, as long as he had eaten well.
Soon, he graciously turned to Hye Gwang.
“Well done, you did as I said.”
“I did not respond to the Martial Alliance as the master had commanded me.”
The Buddhist Star responded, “You did as you were told, but you do not like it.”
Hye Gwang sighed. “The Cult of the Heavenly Demons is raging under the skies. This one does not understand why the master wishes for us to be silent.”
The Buddhist Star chuckled. He then placed a piece of black paper and a piece of white paper in front of him. “What are these?”
“What are they?”
The Buddhist star repeated, “What are these?”
“Black and white, aren’t they?”
“Indeed. And is the piece of black paper evil?”
Hye Gwang shook his head. Paper was merely paper; it was black in color, but how could it be considered evil?
“Then is the piece of white paper good?”
“That is also not the case.”
The Buddhist Star chuckled, as if he liked that answer.
Was there something that suddenly came to mind?
“Ah!” Hye Gwang hurriedly bowed his head.
“Do you understand?”
Hye Gwang nodded. “I see. Black and white are simply colors, not standards for dividing good and evil. Also, the division of black and white is just a human standard…”
“In the eyes of the Buddha, there is only a sheet of paper.”
Black is not evil and white is not good.
The Cult of the Heavenly Demon may be good, the Martial Alliance may be evil.
The Buddha was a single piece of paper, conveying the truth to Hye Gwang.
“Hye Gwang.”
“Yes,” nodded the man.
The Buddhist Star took something out of his robes and threw it.
Tuk—
It was a knife.
A knife with seven pieces of jade, the second of which glittered black.
Hye Gwang picked up the knife from the ground, looking bewildered.
“If the old man of the Jegal Family calls later, show it to him and join him.”
There was only one person who the Buddhist Star would call the ‘old man of the Jegal Family’: the ‘Venerable Dragon’ Jegal Sung, a man who had entered Murim and reached similar pinnacles along the Way.
“What is this?”
“It is a jade knife.”
After he finished speaking, the Buddhist Star stood up from his seat.
In the past year, that had never happened.
It was the first time the Buddhist Star had moved from his spot — whether rain or shine, the man had meditated with the struck bowl.
“Master!” Hye Gwang exclaimed in surprise.
It was because the Buddhist Star seemed to be heading somewhere.
“It has been a long time since I stood up and my legs are aching. I have sat for a long time.”
“Where are you going?”
“Do not move the Shaolin until the people of the Jegal Clan move. It should be enough that I make a move on behalf of the Shaolin…”
The Buddhist Star turned to look up at the darkening skies, speaking with pity: “Huh, it is dark. It is so dark. Namo Amitabha. I pray the Buddha shows mercy to Zhongyuan…”
The old man clasped his hands together and prayed.
“Where are you going?”
“I am going to do what needs to be done.”
“If you are going far away, you must take some disciples with you…”
The man shook his head. He then smiled softly. “I will go alone.”
“Alone…”
Hye Gwang was about to shout.
But the figure of the Buddhist Star had already disappeared.
“Do not forget. You must never move the Shaolin until the Jegal Clan moves.”
Only the voice of the Buddhist Star echoed through the peak.
Seeing the man disappearing without moving, Hye Gwang muttered, “Golden Vajra Unmoving Divine Steps (金剛不動神步)…”
The same day the Buddhist Star disappeared from Mount Song, a person disappeared from Mount Paektu.
The only one who knew was a man hiding on Mount Paektu with a sword attached to his waist.
And that man continued watching in silence, sending only one bird off of a branch.
***
Lee Shin-jung waved his hands.
Along the tips of his fingers, two rings of light split the air.
Kuakuakuakua—
The Black and White Wheels slaughtered the Orthodox soldiers, each emitting a brilliant light.
A fountain of blood soared into the air and flesh scattered like a storm. Amongst it, the soldiers collapsed.
One person being a match against a thousand (一騎當千).
Was that an apt description of a Demonic Master?
However, the ones holding such power were not limited to only the Demonic Cult.
“Demonic Teacher, why don’t you put mercy in your hands?”
There was a sword that swung at the demonic soldiers.
A man wearing a blue robe appeared. Like many of the other swordsmen, he had a sword in his hand, but it did not look forced at all.
Based on the man’s strength, Lee Shin-jung quickly realized the man’s identity.
“The head of the Wudang.”
“This one is Tae Heo-jin,” the man said. “My apologies.” He put his hands together.
“Are you here to block my way?”
“I am just here to save one more.”
Same meaning.
Different words.
Though they had only exchanged a few words, Lee Shin-jung felt that Tae Heo-jin was different from the other Orthodox people.
One that accepted death honestly and truly felt regret.
Rather than shouting revenge, he wished to save lives.
To care for the survivors, to save even one more life.
Lee Shin-jung wondered if there were any Orthodox martial artist who had fought against him like this.
Hmm. If we had met somewhere other than a battlefield, we might have shared a drink.
But this was the battlefield.
And he was in the position of taking orders from the Heavenly Demon.
“You will have to stop me to save lives.”
Lee Shin-jung caught the wheels, which had flown back to him.
Tae Hae-jin sighed and raised his sword. “If that is the only way…”
The Light Wheel of Yin and Yang collided with the Taegeuk Dispelling Sword.
Kuakuakua—
Taegeuk Dispelling Sword.
Technically, it should be called the Taegeuk Bright Sword. In the past, the Shaolin Temple lost the secrets to the Taegeuk Bright Sword. [1]
The current Taegeuk Bright Sword had been recreated by the Wudang Sect in remembrance of the lost art.
That was why the name was different.
Because they could not forget that the current technique was different from the real Taegeuk Bright Sword, they purposefully renamed it the ‘Taegeuk Dispelling Sword’ and vowed not to lose the same art twice.
There was no denying that one sword could be freed from the state of Taiji! [2]
Ooooo—
As the sword in Tae Heo-jin’s hand drew a circle, a ripple of energy appeared.
At the same time, the yin and yang from the sword collided with Lee Shin-jung’s Heavenly Wheel.
Kwa-rung –
As the explosion rang, Tae Hae-jin and Lee Shin-jung were surprised and shouted at the same time.
“Are you unleashing yin and yang by following the flow with the will of Heaven (顺天)?”
“Are you unleashing yin and yang by following the flow against the will of Heaven (逆天)? ”
There were a lot of similarities between the Taegeuk Dispelling Sword and Lee Shin-jung’s martial arts. It was only a difference of with or against.
Well, the amount of qi was also different.
Tae Heo-jin was a person in the top 10 amongst the 72 Supreme. He was able to fight against a Demonic Master without being outmatched.
Cosmic forces collided against each other. The rivers of qi were scattered in all directions like waves.
Deep grooves appeared in the ground.
It seemed like it was a fight that would not end easily.
“Hmm.”
“Hmmm.”
Lee Shin-jung and Tae Hae-jin stared at each other without saying a word.
At that moment!
When no one was watching, two objects split through the air.
They left long tails in the air, like shooting stars.
At this time, someone recognized the objects!
“Huh?”
A massive bomb dove through the air.
Krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
They were being bombed.
[1] ‘Taegeuk Dispelling Sword’ is Taegeuk Haegeum (태극해검, 太极解劍) while ‘Taegeuk Bright Sword’ is Taegeuk Hyegeom (태극혜검, 太极慧劍)
[2] Taegeuk is the Korean cognate of Taiji, meaning ‘supreme ultimate’; specifically, it is the red and blue symbol at the center of the S. Korean flag, representing the dual forces of nature