Chapter 47: The Third Person
Before them, a colossal dragon coiled around the majestic palace, circling it again and again. Its enormous head rose high above the hall, staring directly at them!
This was a dragon skeleton—only bones, no flesh or blood. Even its teeth stood taller than Qin Mu!
Though the dragon had been dead for who knows how long, its awe-inspiring might was still evident. It must have been an incredibly powerful being in life.
Qin Mu opened his Divine Firmament Eye, and the skeleton before him seemed to come alive. Divine light surged into the sky, and in his vision, the dragon appeared to twist and slither. Though it was dead, its aura and presence made him feel as if it still lived!
“The Flood Dragon King of Yongjiang… a true dragon…”
Qin Mu gazed at the dragon, his heart stirring. He thought of Ma Ye’s fist technique, specifically the move “Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder” from the Thunderclap Eight Forms. In Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder, one’s primal energy split into nine layers of force. The first layer was the Raging Dragon Charge, the second was the Twin Dragon Twist, and each subsequent layer added one more dragon’s power!
Qin Mu had practiced this move since childhood under Ma Ye, repeating it countless times, but he had never grasped its essence. Only recently, with his cultivation advancing, had the power of Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder greatly increased. Yet, when he clashed with the young monk Mingxin, he still came out worse for wear.
Part of the reason was that he lacked the Great Thunderclap Monastery’s Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra, but the greater reason was that his Nine Dragon Fist Force merely resembled a dragon.
It was like a dragon but not a dragon—only the appearance, lacking the substance. Naturally, it crumbled on contact.
If his fist force were a true dragon, even without learning the Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra, his Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder would be the genuine transmission!
Because the fist principle of Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder was to imitate the momentum of a true dragon commanding wind and thunder—thunderous and overwhelming, the divine dragon lunging and striking from within the lightning. If he could achieve that, learning the Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra or not wouldn’t matter!
“Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder… Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder…”
Qin Mu studied the skeleton bit by bit, his feet moving unconsciously. His eyes held nothing but this true dragon’s bones. He observed the dragon’s form, examined the skeletal structure, studied the dragon’s momentum, pondered its rhythm, absorbed its aura, and contemplated its spirit.
He became more and more absorbed, walking and looking, even making strange movements with his arms and body, unconsciously mimicking the true dragon’s every action.
His primal energy, too, unknowingly began to flow through his body like a true dragon, circulating again and again, enriching more and more details.
In his Embryonic Divine Treasure, his embryonic spirit also moved in sync with him, breathing and cycling primal energy, gradually undergoing a wondrous transformation. The primal energy he exhaled didn’t return to Qin Mu’s body but instead swirled around him, forming a small dragon. As he breathed in more and more primal energy, this small dragon grew, slowly becoming as tall as a person, coiling around the embryonic spirit.
Fox Ling’er had been terrified at first, but as time passed, her fear gradually lessened. She wasn’t as scared anymore, though Qin Mu was so absorbed in studying the skeleton that he forgot about her entirely.
After a long while, Fox Ling’er’s stomach growled. Carefully, she climbed down from Qin Mu’s back and tiptoed out of the underwater dragon palace. She wasn’t worried about disturbing Qin Mu; rather, she had a natural fear of dragons and was afraid that any noise she made might disturb the skeleton.
Half an hour later, the white fox returned, carrying a bag filled with strange, dandelion-like creatures.
Fighting her fear of the dragon skeleton, Fox Ling’er walked into the mist, approached Qin Mu, climbed onto him, and sat on his shoulder. She stuffed one of the creatures into his mouth.
Qin Mu, as if oblivious, opened his mouth when food came and ate it obediently.
Fox Ling’er fed him over twenty of those strange creatures before she started munching on them herself.
Qin Mu still showed no signs of waking, continuing to pace back and forth, his eyes fixed on the skeleton. Sometimes he even climbed onto the bones, walking along the massive frame.
On his embryonic spirit, a green dragon coiled, crackling with electric sparks, but Qin Mu was too focused on observing the skeleton to notice.
Two days passed like this. Qin Mu ate, drank, slept, and relieved himself right there, his body already reeking, yet he still showed no signs of waking.
Fox Ling’er was very patient. These past few days, she had taken care of his meals. When he was thirsty, she fetched water in leaves. When he was hungry, she caught the strange creatures in the passage. But on the way, she had to pass the pool where the strange fish lurked, and one careless move could get her eaten. Fortunately, she was clever and avoided any mishaps.
Of course, she still hid when Qin Mu needed to relieve himself.
On the third day, Fox Ling’er was about to fetch some water when suddenly Qin Mu’s voice rang out, surprised: “Why am I so dirty?”
Fox Ling’er was both startled and delighted, her voice crisp: “You’ve been standing here for three days. Of course you’re dirty!”
“Three days?”
Qin Mu was shocked. “Damn! I’ve been gone three days—the villagers must be frantic! Let’s go, we need to hurry back!”
Suddenly, he stopped. “If I go back now, I’ll definitely get scolded, and they might even forbid me from leaving again. Since I’m already here, I might as well take a look inside the dragon palace. Maybe I’ll find some treasures.”
Full of enthusiasm, he walked into the underwater dragon palace. Fox Ling’er, summoning her courage, followed him into the majestic hall. But she was timid, sticking close to Qin Mu’s leg, not daring to wander.
The hall was also shrouded in mist, even thicker than before—vast and hazy, making it hard to see far.
“Strange, what’s producing this mist?”
Qin Mu was puzzled. This fog wasn’t water vapor, and even his Divine Firmament Eye couldn’t see far through it. The closer they got to the center of the hall, the thicker the mist became, and the shorter their visibility. Fox Ling’er grew even more frightened, biting Qin Mu’s pant leg as he led her along.
Then, he heard a strange sound—soft, lingering, yet filled with sorrow. It sounded like someone singing a mournful song in the mist, but he couldn’t understand the words.
It was an ancient language, mysterious and obscure, as old as divine or demonic tongues.
As Qin Mu listened, he raised his hand to touch his cheek. Unknowingly, tears were streaming down his face.
The song gave him the feeling that there was a drifting woman in the mist, singing a heartbreaking story.
Suddenly, the golden rings on his Khakkhara staff clanged loudly, making a racket.
“Grandpa Ma said the rings on the Khakkhara staff can dispel distracting and evil thoughts. When the mind stirs, the rings stir—one distracting or evil thought, one ring sound. Now the rings are ringing like beans rattling in a sieve, clanging nonstop. Do I really have that many distracting and evil thoughts?”
Qin Mu looked down and couldn’t help but laugh. Fox Ling’er was trembling like a leaf, clinging tightly to his leg, her tail draped over the Khakkhara. His mind wasn’t disturbed—it was the little fox’s heart that was in chaos.
“Ling’er, move your tail aside a bit,” Qin Mu said.
Fox Ling’er shifted her tail to the side, still trembling.
Qin Mu frowned. Even after Fox Ling’er moved her tail, the golden rings on the Khakkhara staff kept shaking, clanging loudly.
“Could it be that besides me and Fox Ling’er, there’s a third person here? A third person full of evil thoughts? Could it be that woman singing?”
The rings on the Khakkhara staff rang more and more urgently. This clearly meant there was a third person here, with too many distracting and evil thoughts. The Khakkhara sensed them and wouldn’t stop ringing!
The song in the air drifted back and forth, growing sadder.
Qin Mu looked down and suddenly shuddered. In the mist, a bony hand was reaching toward the Khakkhara staff. Before it could touch the staff, it trembled as if struck by lightning and silently withdrew.
Qin Mu leaned on the Khakkhara staff and looked around. His eyes twitched. In the surrounding mist, countless withered hands kept reaching toward him, but they recoiled involuntarily when they encountered the Khakkhara.
The soft song in the mist grew clearer, as if singing right in his ear.
“What are these things in the mist?”
His scalp tingled. Fox Ling’er had already scrambled up his pant leg, onto his back, and then into his arms, hiding inside his clothes. Only her fluffy little head poked out, peeking around, trembling.
This scene was truly terrifying. Even Qin Mu’s heart began to race, but the vibration of the golden rings had a calming effect, quickly soothing his mind.
He steadied himself. So many hands—clearly not from the same person.
“Whatever you are, begone!”
Qin Mu’s primal energy surged, flowing through his arm into the Khakkhara staff. He lifted the staff and slammed it down heavily. With a loud clang, the Khakkhara staff burst forth with countless beams of light, shooting in all directions. At the same time, a Buddha shadow appeared behind him, sitting cross-legged in the air, and a great Sanskrit chant rang out:
“Thus have I heard!”
The Buddha shadow’s voice resounded: “All sentient beings, from beginningless time, have been bound to the cycle of birth and death because they do not know the everlasting true mind, the pure and bright essence, and instead rely on false thoughts. These thoughts are not true, and so they revolve—revolve—revolve—revolve—”