Chapter 176: Arhat Demon-Locking Formation
“...Kill them.”
The moment Master Baekheo gave the order—
BOOM!
The Dharma Hall warrior monks across from us kicked off the ground all at once.
Dozens of monks charged toward us with their reinforced staffs raised high.
At the same time, a grotesque howl erupted from behind.
“Uuuuuugh!”
The Shaolin elders consumed by demonic qi had begun moving as well.
“Mujin!”
Jin Gwangung immediately moved behind me.
BOOM!
A palm force unleashed by one of the elders collided with Jin Gwangung's fist.
Another elder rushed toward his flank immediately after.
But Jin Gwangung didn't retreat at all.
BANG!
He swung both arms wide and received both attacks head-on.
Then he shouted toward me.
“We'll handle the elders!”
The moment his voice rang out, Hyeongwon, Yu Seola, and Myeongjeon engaged the remaining elder.
Shing! Clack!
Yu Seola and Hyeongwon drew their sword and spear.
Myeongjeon also raised his qi and rushed in.
Abbot Gonghyeon joined the fight as well.
He faced the demonic Baekheo head-on.
“Baekheo.”
Pain and caution mixed in Gonghyeon's voice.
But there was no response in Baekheo's pitch-black eyes.
Wooooom.
Dark energy gathered between his hands.
Instead of the clear and upright qi of Buddhist martial arts...
thick demonic qi rolled across his entire body.
Gonghyeon stepped forward.
“I will bring you back.”
The two powers representing Shaolin.
The Abbot...
and the head of the Dharma Hall.
They took their stances against one another.
Under normal circumstances, such a scene should never have existed.
But I didn't have the luxury of watching.
I had enemies of my own to deal with.
“Uuuuuugh....”
Dozens of maddened Dharma Hall warriors, drenched in murderous intent, were rushing toward me.
Strong.
The killing intent pouring from them was so intense that I instinctively held my breath.
They closed the distance with reinforced staffs held in both hands.
Even in madness...
their movements weren't sloppy in the slightest.
Looking more closely...
I realized they were advancing in a single formation.
A coordinated battle array.
And I knew exactly what it was.
Arhat Demon-Locking Formation.
A formation based on Shaolin's famed Hundred and Eight Arhat Formation...
but modified so that it could be deployed with far fewer people.
Its numbers were smaller.
But in terms of practicality and destructive power...
it was said to be no less terrifying.
“Taoist Han!”
Gonghyeon's voice came from behind me.
“They are elites of the Dharma Hall.”
He shouted while exchanging palm strikes with Baekheo.
“You must use your full strength against them!”
Then his voice became heavier.
“And if there is no other choice...”
A deep conflict passed through his eyes.
“I permit killing techniques.”
They were Shaolin disciples he cherished.
Yet to prevent even greater casualties...
he had given me permission to kill.
I turned my gaze back toward the charging monks.
“You don't need to permit me to kill them.”
I slowly raised the Heavenly Law Sword.
“Because no one is going to die here today.”
FWOOSH!
Blue flames surged along the blade.
The demonic qi surrounding the warrior monks shook violently the instant it met that light.
“The thing this sword must cut isn't them...”
I leveled the Heavenly Law Sword toward the formation.
“...it's the filthy demonic qi devouring them.”
Tap!
This time...
I charged toward them.
The instant I reached the monks at the front—
WHOOOOM!
A reinforced staff crashed down toward my head.
BOOM!
I shifted sideways.
The staff smashed into the stone floor, scattering fragments everywhere.
Two more staffs immediately came from the left and right.
CLANG!
I redirected the left strike with the Heavenly Law Sword...
and leaned backward to avoid the one from the right.
Then another monk leapt out from behind the front line and swung down from above.
WHOOOSH!
I twisted aside.
His staff passed beside me.
For a moment...
the side of his neck was exposed.
But there was no time to counter.
WHOOOM!
Another staff came immediately.
RIP!
I abandoned the counterattack and retreated.
The tip of the staff grazed my side, tearing open the right side of my upper robe.
A hot pain spread through my ribs.
Damn.
As expected, this won't be easy.
When I evaded one monk...
three attacked the opening.
When I forced those three back...
five more filled the gap behind them.
Dozens of people were moving like one enormous body.
All of them trying to kill me.
Part of me wanted to use killing techniques and bring them down immediately.
...But I can't.
If I slaughtered the elite warriors of the Dharma Hall here...
the result would be no different from the Shaolin Bloodbath of my previous life.
Even if the only outcome was that Shaolin's core fighting force had died...
Moyong Cheonhwi could still blame the Demonic Cult.
He could use their deaths to ignite the conquest all over again.
I had to stop that future here.
No matter what.
Almost as though mocking my resolve—
SWISH! WHOOOM!
Dozens of staffs surged toward me again.
Every one of them carried killing intent.
That doesn't mean I have no answer.
I took a short breath and moved the Heavenly Law Sword.
“Flowing Flower Kunlun Sword, First Form.”
“Clear Current Flowing Water.”
The sword tip moved.
A current formed through the air.
The incoming staffs were caught by my sword path and guided sideways.
I received their strength...
then changed its direction.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!
The staffs of the front-line monks crashed into one another.
For just an instant...
a gap appeared.
I stepped into it.
Then thrust the Heavenly Law Sword forward.
“Flowing Flower Kunlun Sword, Second Form.”
“Mirror Flower Straight Flash.”
My sword path compressed into a single blue streak of light.
SWISH!
The blue sword tip shot straight through the gaps between the monks.
CLANG! CLANG-CLANG!
It skimmed past the ends of their staffs.
Their wrists.
Their elbows.
I didn't cut deeply into flesh.
Instead...
I forced aside their weapons and pierced the connections of demonic qi surrounding their bodies.
HISSSS!
The demonic qi burned wherever the blue flame touched it.
For an instant...
the monks' movements stiffened.
I flipped the sword and struck the acupoint of the monk at the front with the pommel.
THUD!
His arm went limp.
I immediately aimed for the solar plexus of the monk beside him.
But two staffs came from either side at the same time.
One aimed for my head.
The other for my waist.
I ducked underneath them.
At that exact moment...
a black palm force from behind slammed into my shoulder.
BOOM!
“Kugh!”
My body lurched forward.
The metallic taste of blood spread through my mouth.
