Chapter 116: Heart of a Pure Child
Qin Mu focused his mind, memorizing the Six Harmonies Realm cultivation diagram of the Overlord Body Three Dan Art carved on the pillar. He had obtained the incomplete Five Radiances Realm diagram of the Overlord Body Three Dan Art in the Town Center Palace, and with the addition of the Six Harmonies Realm diagram, the parts of the incomplete diagram he couldn't understand gradually became clearer. However, it was still unlikely he could fully restore the incomplete diagram.
Since the young patriarch had seen the cultivation diagram of the Overlord Body Three Dan Art, perhaps he still had the incomplete Five Radiances Realm diagram. Even if it wasn't complete, it might be combined with the incomplete diagram Qin Mu knew to restore the Five Radiances Realm.
This concerned his cultivation, so he had to be diligent.
Suddenly, a monk walked out from behind the hall and said in a deep voice, "Which are the scholars from Jiangling? Jiangling scholars, step forward. You don't need to pass this stage; go to the next stage and wait."
Wei Yong was stunned for a moment, then stepped out with the other two scholars and walked toward the hall. He turned his head and said, "Brother Qin..."
"Silence!"
The monk said sternly, "The Jiangling scholars have suffered heavy casualties, so you don't need to take the remaining exams. Everyone else, stay here and wait for the assessment."
Qin Mu was astonished. There were actually monks in the Imperial Academy!
He had seen so many Taoists that he originally thought that although it was called the Imperial Academy, it was actually a Taoist institution. He never expected to see monks here as well.
"The Imperial Academy combines monks and Taoists. I wonder what the Great Thunderclap Monastery thinks of this?"
Just as he was thinking this, another monk in a yellow robe walked out from behind the hall. He had prominent brow bones, long flowing eyebrows, and held a register. He scanned the room, his sharp gaze intimidating the scholars inside, and said, "This stage tests your mental fortitude."
His voice boomed like a great bell or a huge drum, causing everyone in the hall's eardrums to buzz and their minds to go blank.
He sat cross-legged, his eyes lowered, and said, "The sutra I chant contains true words. If you cannot withstand it, withdraw from the hall. Those who can endure this sutra of mine may proceed to the next stage."
He pressed his palms together, turning his prayer beads, and said unhurriedly, "The Buddha said to Subhuti: All Bodhisattvas and Mahasattvas should subdue their minds as follows: All kinds of beings—whether egg-born, womb-born, moisture-born, or transformation-born; whether with form or without form; whether with perception or without perception; or neither with perception nor without perception—I shall cause them all to enter Nirvana without remainder and liberate them. Thus liberating countless, infinite, and boundless beings, in truth no being is liberated. Why is that so?"①
The Buddhist sound vibrated, each true word like a Tathagata descending, crashing from the sound into the minds of all the scholars in the hall, into their bodies, into their primal qi, their spirit embryo divine treasures, and their Five Radiances divine treasures!
Even in their thoughts, great Buddhas like Tathagatas appeared, shining with light.
The vibration grew stronger and stronger, becoming unbearable. The vibrating sound made their blood and qi restless, their primal qi chaotic, and their divine treasures difficult to guard!
Resisting the chanting was also extremely difficult. Their minds simply couldn't withstand it, as if all their thoughts were illuminated clearly, with no secrets left.
Finally, one scholar couldn't bear it anymore, stood up, and rushed out of the hall!
If he continued listening to the yellow-robed monk's sutra, he feared his primal qi would directly collapse, his divine treasures would be occupied by the Buddhist sound, and even his muscles, skin, hair, bones, and meridians would be shaken apart!
Just as that scholar rushed out of the hall, several others couldn't endure it either, stood up, and ran outside. Before they even left the hall, they couldn't help vomiting violently, as if they wanted to expel their hearts, livers, spleens, lungs, and kidneys.
The yellow-robed monk remained unmoved, continuing to chant the true sutra. The Buddhist true words kept booming, growing heavier and heavier. More scholars ran out of the hall, looking disheveled and miserable.
Before long, only about twenty people remained in the hall. Qin Mu sat in the hall as the Buddhist sound surged toward him, shaking everything about him. The young man remained unmoved, silently reciting the demonic language, locked in a stalemate with the Buddhist sound—attack and defense, back and forth, a lively contest.
The Buddhist sound had the least effect on him, unable to disturb his consciousness at all.
After a while, Qin Mu switched to the divine language he had learned, battling the Buddhist sound fiercely, locked in an intense struggle.
After a long time, the yellow-robed monk frowned, opened his eyes, and looked toward Qin Mu. He saw Qin Mu sitting there calmly, looking up at the murals on the pillars, seemingly completely unaffected by his chanting. At this point, only about a dozen people remained in the hall.
"Strange. His evaluation clearly says 'wicked nature, key observation target.' If he truly had an evil heart, how could he endure my Buddhist sound for so long?"
The yellow-robed monk was greatly puzzled, and his chanting unconsciously slowed down. He thought to himself, "He shows no wickedness at all now. If I deliberately make him retreat, I'm afraid all the scholars in the hall will be forced out, and no one will pass this stage."
He stopped, stood up, and said, "You have passed. Go out through the back hall to the next stage."
Everyone sighed with relief and stood up, finding themselves drenched in sweat, their clothes soaked. Only Qin Mu seemed completely unaffected, not a single drop of sweat on him.
The yellow-robed monk looked at him a few more times, took out the register, and made notes after each person's name. When he reached Qin Mu, the yellow-robed monk hesitated for a moment, then wrote: "Heart of a pure child, unmoved by external forces."
The monk walked out from the back hall, tossed the register into the air. A crane flew over midair, caught the book, and flew upward. The yellow-robed monk returned to the hall.
The crane flew to the mountainside and landed in front of a large hall. The crane held the book in its beak and handed it to a child who came walking over. The child hurried into the hall and presented the book to a middle-aged Taoist inside: "Master Lingyun, the register has arrived."
Lingyun Taoist opened the register and said with a smile, "Every year, the Imperial Academy gives out ten slots, selecting outstanding students from the Spirit Embryo Realm and Five Radiances Realm scholars. I wonder what talents there are this year?"
He looked through them one by one, nodded slightly, and said, "Fourteen remain, all with high evaluations. Although this year has been turbulent and the talent is not as good as previous years, there are still some notable young prodigies... Hmm?"
He stared at Qin Mu's name, his expression strange. He read the line over and over several times, somewhat puzzled: "What's going on with this Qin Mu? It says he has a wicked nature and needs key observation, but then it also says he has the heart of a pure child, unmoved by external forces? These people write evaluations carelessly!"
The child said, "Teacher, the three scholars from Jiangling have already been internally selected. Teacher needs to eliminate seven people in this stage. Also, General Tian Ce said his daughter is taking the exam and asked Teacher to take good care of her. There's also a letter from the Grand Commandant's Mansion, saying a grandson wants to enter the Imperial Academy for cultivation. And the Cavalry General, the Qin family in the capital, and a letter from the Prince of Zhen'an saying that the young son of the Prince of Zhen'an also wants..."
Lingyun Taoist had a headache, saying, "They all want to enter the Imperial Academy, and they all have big backgrounds—bigger than mine, no matter what. The three scholars from Jiangling have already taken three slots, which is the face of the National Preceptor. With only seven slots left out of ten, how can I accommodate so many people? What background does this Qin Mu have? Is he from the Qin family in the capital?"
The child shook his head and said, "The Qin family said their young master is called Qin Yu. This Qin Mu should have no connection to the Qin family. His household registration is from Lizhou Prefecture."
Lingyun Taoist breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I'll have to wrong him then. I'll just make sure he doesn't pass my stage later. Who else has no background?"
"There are also the brothers Ding Shan and Ding He, and this woman named Si Yunxiang. Also, those with backgrounds but not very strong ones include this person, a relative of the Yanshan Prefecture Governor, and this one, a cousin of the Yudu Prefecture Magistrate..."
Lingyun Taoist sighed in relief and said, "Although officials of the third and second ranks are not easy to offend, for now, I'll have to offend them."
Qin Mu exited the back hall and looked up to see a mountain path ahead. Over a dozen scholars climbed upward together. Before long, the path suddenly leveled out, and a waterfall cascaded down a jade wall, splashing like flying jade and spilling pearls. Under the sunlight, it shimmered with flowing colors, brilliant and magnificent, making Qin Mu and the others couldn't help but exclaim that this was truly a divine and immortal land.
"Sister, you also have the surname Si?"
Qin Mu looked at the girl beside him and asked curiously, "The surname Si is very rare. I have a relative with the surname Si."
The girl beside him was named Si Yunxiang, a quiet young woman with big eyes. The Si family wasn't large. Other than Granny Si, this was the first time Qin Mu had met someone with the surname Si. He couldn't help looking at her a few more times and approached her to strike up a conversation.
The Si girl seemed to notice his gaze, showed a shy expression, lowered her head, and walked forward, ignoring him.
"She gets shy. She's not Granny in disguise."
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief and thought to himself, "Granny never gets shy. Granny is now in Cripples' Village and can't leave the Great Ruins, let alone come here. If it were Granny, she wouldn't use the surname Si at all, because I would suspect it. Haha, am I just being paranoid?"
He was now a bit suspicious. When he heard the name of this girl called Si Yunxiang, he had some doubts, so he approached to test her.
Before long, they arrived in front of a large hall. A child holding a register looked at them and said loudly, "Scholars, this stage's assessment is strict, and there may be casualties. Does anyone want to withdraw?"
Note ①: The scripture comes from the Buddhist Diamond Sutra. Zhai Zhu carefully read this sutra and found that the Sanskrit demonic language written earlier in the novel was wrong. The character "Sa" should be inverted. The Diamond Sutra has "Mahasattva," which literally means "creating greatness." "Samaya" should be "Mayasa," which will be changed to "Mayasa" in later text.