Chapter 24: Breaking the God Within
The myriad things of this world are not as simple as they appear to mortal eyes. What ordinary people see and what awakened martial artists see are entirely two different worlds!
The stone statues in the village appeared ordinary, but an awakened martial artist could see gods within them. The remnants left by gods and demons were everywhere; awakened martial artists could behold terrifying gods and demons. As for the Buddha statues in temples, common folk saw Buddha statues, but awakened martial artists could see the Unrivaled Great Buddha—an Unrivaled Great Buddha that crushed the spirit!
If a martial artist did not possess a strong mind, they would sooner or later be frightened to death by what they saw.
That was why Blind taught Qin Mu to train his eyes by first training his mind. Only by breaking the god within could he avoid being intimidated and achieve something in the future.
The Buddhist school said, "If the Buddha is in your heart, it is hard to become a Buddha." The Imperial Preceptor of Yan Kingdom said, "It is easy to break the god in the temple, but hard to break the god in the heart." Both of these sayings, along with Blind pissing on the stone statue, shared the same principle.
The first two required tempering the mind, step by step, to break the gods and Buddhas within the heart. Blind's method was simple and crude, even somewhat extreme and mad, but it was effective.
When the village chief first met Blind, the aura Blind carried was immensely powerful, still like an enraged dragon sweeping in all directions. But at that time, Blind's eyes had been gouged out, and he was broken.
Now, that Spear God had returned.
This could not be said to be without Qin Mu's merit. Ever since this little boy with all his limbs intact appeared in the village, the resentment among the villagers had gradually dissipated. To teach Qin Mu the Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Technique, Blind had to first awaken his own "divine eyes," but his divine eyes had already been gouged out, leaving only his heart-eye.
Just as Blind was teaching Qin Mu, the village chief sensed the awakening of Blind's "divine eyes"—it was the Heart-Mind Eye!
He had no eyes, so he used his heart instead!
The village chief slowly closed his eyes, basking leisurely in the sun, and silently thought to himself: "The Heart-Mind Eye will surpass the divine eye. The Spear God will also surpass the Spear God of the past. Blind, when you step out of the Great Ruins, your enemies will tremble..."
After Qin Mu finished pissing, he shivered, feeling refreshed in both body and mind.
The stone statue could no longer suppress his mind. When he looked at the statue again, he saw many things he had never noticed before. It was as if a layer of gauze had been over his eyes before, showing only blurry images, but now that layer of gauze was peeled away, and the true colors of the world were revealed.
He greedily took in the colors around him. This beauty he had never discovered before made him want to cry with excitement.
He went to the other stone statues in the village, and his mind was once again shaken. The other three stone statues in the village, like the dragon-headed old man statue, burst forth with intense divine light, radiating an extraordinary, transcendent divine charm, carrying a sacred and extraordinary aura!
However, he could look at them with a calm mind; these statues could no longer affect his spirit.
The Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Technique—he had only cultivated the first heaven, and it had already filled him with ecstatic joy. What level would the subsequent heavens elevate his eyes to, and what beautiful sights would he see?
Qin Mu took out the bronze mirror and looked into it. He saw that his eyes were different from usual. Deep in his pupils, a ring appeared, with strange patterns inside it, like intertwined lightning.
This ring slowly dimmed and gradually disappeared.
Qin Mu closed his eyes, carefully channeled his primal energy to construct the Divine Firmament Heavenly Net Array Pattern within his pupils, and opened his eyes again. In the mirror, he saw another ring appear in his eyes.
This ring was the projection of the Divine Firmament Heaven.
"If I cultivate the Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Technique to completion, then there should be nine rings nested within each other in my eyes, like ten overlapping pupils," Qin Mu thought to himself.
Blind continued to guide him on how to cultivate the complete Divine Firmament Heavenly Net Array Pattern. After a long time, Qin Mu finally mastered the complete array pattern.
"Mu'er, have you rested enough?"
The Butcher "jumped down" from the millstone, grabbed two pig-slaughtering knives, and shouted, "If you've rested enough, it's time to practice the blade!"
Qin Mu responded, took the pig-slaughtering knives, and charged at the Butcher.
Before long, Ma Ye and the Cripple returned from hunting and immediately took over from the Butcher, continuing to train Qin Mu. They only let him go when he was too exhausted to move.
In the afternoon, Qin Mu went to the blacksmith, Mute, to work the iron. Mute gestured and made "ah-ah" sounds for a while. Qin Mu nodded, lost in thought.
Mute was talking about cultivation techniques. He said cultivation was like forging iron: one must pay attention to gentle fire and strong fire. Besides gentle fire and strong fire, there was also quenching, using water to temper.
This was one pattern and one martial, one firm and one soft, one dragon and one tiger.
Qin Mu pondered carefully. The more he savored it, the more profound it seemed. He couldn't help but admire Mute greatly. Mute's words helped him avoid many detours.
While forging iron, Mute also taught him to observe the fire, looking at the furnace flame and gesturing.
Qin Mu's eyes lit up. Following Mute's teaching, he observed the fire while channeling his primal energy, activating the "Overlord Body Three-Dantian Art." His primal energy circulated as if a small furnace was hidden in his chest cavity, then transported to various parts of his body.
He felt as if his primal energy was burning, which was very wondrous.
At the same time, in his Fetal Spirit Divine Treasury, the fetal spirit absorbed energy from the sea of light, breathing and exhaling primal energy. His fetal spirit was also gradually changing. The exhaled primal energy was ignited, flames wrapping around the fetal spirit, making it seem as if it were bathing in a furnace.
Qin Mu was surprised. His fetal spirit was also undergoing body tempering! Watching the furnace fire caused such a wondrous change in his fetal spirit—something he had never expected!
Mute was also surprised, curiously observing Qin Mu. After a while, Qin Mu felt that the firepower his fetal spirit could withstand had reached its limit, so he quickly stopped looking at the furnace fire.
"Ah-ah!"
Mute gestured twice, plunged the red-hot iron bar into the water, and with a sizzle, white smoke rose. Then he gestured twice more.
Qin Mu's eyes lit up. He looked at the water tank and fell into thought.
Soon, the sound of flowing water came from his chest, a gurgling stream. Then the gurgling primal energy flowed into his Fetal Spirit Divine Treasury, turning into a trickling stream that contacted the fetal spirit. A wondrous thing happened—his primal energy was actually tempering the fetal spirit!
His fetal spirit, tempered by water and fire, was thoroughly enjoying it!
Early the next morning, Qin Mu got up, feeling radiant and full of vigorous energy. Using the method Mute taught him to cultivate was indeed twice the result with half the effort!
"Time to go fight that demon ape again!"
He was full of enthusiasm. He took a Solidify Origin Pill, and the powerful medicinal force surged through him, forcing him to rush out of the village to vent. Under the cliff, the demon ape had long been waiting.
"Little thing, lie down!"
This demon ape had cultivated the Thunderclap Eight Forms that Qin Mu taught it and felt its strength had greatly increased. Seeing Qin Mu charging over, it excitedly dropped the branch from its mouth, assumed a stance, and chuckled, "Lie down, flat!"
Qin Mu rushed forward. The demon ape, like a moving hill, charged straight at him. Suddenly, it executed a move, "Alone in the Eastern Sea, Carrying Spring Thunder," bringing a whistling wind that grew louder and louder, the strong wind causing the surrounding trees to sway!
Qin Mu's eyes lit up. He let out a long howl and also executed "Alone in the Eastern Sea, Carrying Spring Thunder," colliding with the demon ape with a thunderous boom!
Dong!
A dull, heavy sound rang out. Both man and ape were sent flying by their respective forces. The demon ape landed and immediately charged again. Its massive fist broke through the air, making the air tremble. As it moved and punched, the air buzzed and hummed.
Qin Mu was surprised. The move "Thousand-Handed Buddha" had also been mastered by this demon ape!
Although the demon ape's execution of "Thousand-Handed Buddha" was still somewhat unfamiliar and it hadn't grasped the subtlety of the move, it had already grasped its essence. Coupled with this beast's immense strength, the "Thousand-Handed Buddha" in its hands was, purely in terms of power, even superior to Qin Mu's!
The demon ape's body was too powerful, ridiculously strong. After cultivating the Thunderclap Eight Forms, it became even stronger, and the force behind each punch was terrifying!
Qin Mu's cultivation had greatly increased yesterday. Nourished by primal energy, his strength had also grown significantly. Today, after taking another Solidify Origin Pill, he thought he would beat the demon ape half to death. But unexpectedly, he couldn't gain the upper hand at all and was even showing signs of being suppressed!
——This week, many thanks for the tips. Thank you to the new Alliance Leaders, new Stewards, new Hall Masters. Thank you to Jing Kan Hua Kai Hua Luo, Shen Tian Qi 4444, Piao Luo De Xue Hua 77, Feng Zhong Shu Ying, San Sheng Yuan Xiao Dao, Yu Shi Wei Di, y Xiao Yue, Zai Bi Zhong A, shinDAO, Da Wang Pai Wo Lai Dao Luan, A Kai Lao Shi, Xi Ju Xing 0, Zhong Guo Chuang Zao 016, Bu Qi Bu Li, 4gd9, and all the readers for your tips. I cannot list them all, but I am deeply grateful!