Chapter 251: Not Skilled in Demonic Techniques
The group of monks were about to step forward when Monk Mingxin quickly said, "Elder brothers, wait. Let me subdue the demon and kill this fiend!"
Before the other monks could respond, Mingxin had already rushed forward. He winked at Qin Mu and whispered, "When we fight, make it last a few moves, then concede. If you admit defeat, they won't have the face to kill you. Also, don't use demonic arts, or they'll go red-eyed again."
"This little monk has a good heart, far better than that old monk Jingming."
Qin Mu's eyes flickered, and he smiled. "Let's exchange a few moves and learn from each other."
Mingxin immediately struck, opening with the Eight Forms of Thunder Sound. The move "Alone in the Eastern Sea with Spring Thunder" sent thunder roaring as he moved, like a surging river rushing into the sea as spring thunder exploded!
This technique already manifested signs of divine ability. The Yuan Qi before and behind Mingxin transformed into a surging river, with faintly visible towering mountains. The river cascaded down from the peaks, as if falling from the heavens into the ocean.
The Eight Forms of Thunder Sound had reached a level nearly indistinguishable from divine abilities. The Great Thunderclap Monastery's Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra truly lived up to its reputation!
Qin Mu also executed the Eight Forms of Thunder Sound, equally grand and majestic—mountains, rivers, great seas, and spring thunder. With a deafening explosion, the muscles on both their bodies trembled, sinews writhing like tiny dragons beneath their skin, channeling power to its peak, drawing cheers from the assembled monks!
"Mingxin, kill this demon!"
A gaunt, withered old monk shouted, "This fiend dares to cultivate the techniques of our Great Thunderclap Monastery! This is blasphemy against the Buddha! Kill him!"
Qin Mu changed his stance, transforming into the Thousand-Handed Buddha. In an instant, countless attacks rained down. His palms became a blur of afterimages, as if he had a thousand arms. With every hand movement, thunder erupted, like a great Buddha swinging a thousand arms to subdue demons and vanquish evil. The sight made all the monks' expressions shift.
In terms of pure insight into the Eight Forms of Thunder Sound, this demon lord of the Demon Sect had already grasped every subtlety. Even with just the Thousand-Handed Buddha move, Qin Mu's mastery surpassed eighty or ninety percent of the monastery's monks!
The monks' shouts quieted as doubt crept into their hearts. "It seems Mingxin's skill in this move isn't as good as his. He might not be able to win..."
Mingxin also executed the Thousand-Handed Buddha. The moment they clashed, he knew his own skill was lacking. He quickly shook his body, activating the Battle Victory Technique. His form swelled, and scriptures from the sutras materialized around him, forming a great bell. Clang, clang, clang—the bell rang without pause.
The two thousand-armed Buddhas collided, and the difference was immediately clear. Qin Mu's palms struck the bell formed by the scriptures, sending rings of Buddha light bursting from its surface.
At this moment, Qin Mu looked nothing like a demon lord. He resembled an enlightened monk, a young Buddha, with a green dragon coiling around him, his countenance solemn and majestic.
The next moment, Mingxin saw Qin Mu's hand break through the bell, turning palm into fist, and the fist imprint struck his heart. Shock jolted through him.
Qin Mu's fist had precisely pierced a flaw in his Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra. The fist, acting as a seal, exploited the gap and struck straight to the core—a blow aimed almost at his vital point!
Yet the punch carried little force, touching lightly before withdrawing.
The monks felt relieved. "This demon lord's cultivation isn't high; his techniques are just refined."
Mingxin steadied himself and quickly counterattacked. Qin Mu moved like a swimming dragon, circling around with a thousand arms flying. In an instant, countless flaws appeared in the scripture-formed bell. His brow, ears, eyes, back, energy sea, jade pillow, and other vital points were all struck by Qin Mu. Within moments, he had suffered over a hundred fatal blows!
Every attack targeted the weaknesses in his Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra. Mingxin stood frozen, feeling like a leaking bucket, riddled with fatal flaws. Cold sweat poured down his forehead.
Over the years, he had modified the Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra on his own to remove his flaws, thinking he had erased the weakness at his throat. But he hadn't realized that changing one thing affected everything, only creating more flaws.
"This demon lord's cultivation really isn't high!"
The monks grew more at ease. "He can't even break Mingxin's golden bell body protection. No matter how refined his techniques, without strong cultivation, they lack killing power."
Qin Mu withdrew his hand. Mingxin snapped out of his daze and quickly bowed in thanks. "Thank you for the guidance, elder brother! Now I understand that the Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra cannot be altered lightly."
Qin Mu shook his head. "It's not that it can't be changed, but you lack an opponent who can push you to fully unleash your potential. If you had someone with keen insight and broad vision, forcing you to constantly improve and fix the flaws in your technique, then you could achieve flawlessness."
Mingxin looked at him eagerly. Qin Mu shook his head again. "I'm not capable of that. I don't have the skill. Go find the Tathagata and have him teach you the Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra directly. If I were your opponent, the improvement would be limited."
Mingxin nodded. "The Tathagata speaks of fate and conditions. I don't know if I have that fate... Damn it!"
His face changed drastically, and he stamped his foot. "This is bad! If you had lost to me, they wouldn't have the face to keep trying to kill you. But now you've beaten me, and they'll still want you dead! What do we do?"
"Mingxin, step back."
A middle-aged monk stepped forward, his expression darkening. He barked, "Junior Brother Mingxin, you're far too merciful! This is about subduing demons and vanquishing evil. Are you holding back, not using your full cultivation, and letting this fiend live to plague the world? That would be a grave sin!"
Mingxin opened his mouth to speak, but the monk waved his sleeve. "Step back and reflect on yourself!"
Mingxin had no choice but to retreat, feeling deeply wronged. "When did I hold back? I gave it my all!"
The middle-aged monk looked at Qin Mu. "Lord Qin, you are the leader of the Demon Sect, while I am merely a nameless monk from the Dragon Court Monastery of Great Thunderclap. This shouldn't count as the strong bullying the weak, should it?"
Qin Mu smiled faintly. "It doesn't count. It counts as me bullying the weak."
The monk intoned a Buddha's name. "Lord Qin, let me show you the vastness of the Buddha's teachings. Look at this dragon pillar beside you. The dragon carving on it is one of the Hundred Dragon Diagrams of our Great Thunderclap Monastery. I will use this dragon form to send you to the Western Paradise."
Qin Mu examined the dragon pillar beside him. The dragon carving was a celestial dragon, fierce and malevolent, its claws hooked downward in a demon-subduing posture.
Suddenly, the middle-aged monk moved, his steps heavy as he charged forward. He shouted, "May the Lord be reborn into a good family in your next life and no longer be a demon!"
Boom!
He struck with a seal, thunder roaring, executing the "Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder" from the Eight Forms of Thunder Sound. His Yuan Qi transformed into a green dragon, its form exactly matching the celestial dragon on the pillar beside Qin Mu!
The green dragon surged, thunder rumbled, as if a dragon king had descended!
Qin Mu withdrew his gaze from the dragon pillar. Suddenly, his Yuan Qi erupted, also forming the Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder. The two dragon forms collided, and the air filled with endless dragon roars. Ninety green dragons appeared around them—forty-five from each—formed by the fist techniques' dragon force.
The ninety dragons clashed and howled, intertwining and battling, weaving among the dragon pillars.
"Senior Brother Tanxin has excellent cultivation!" The monks cheered.
But as the words left their mouths, the middle-aged monk couldn't help but grunt. He felt Qin Mu's mana crashing down like a violent storm, his fist's dragon force shifting unpredictably. Qin Mu used the same dragon form from that pillar, yet the dragon shape changed in countless ways. Despite using only one dragon form, Qin Mu had endless variations, too many for him to defend against.
"He has grasped the true teachings of our Dragon Court Monastery..."
Despair filled the monk's eyes and brow. The forty-five dragon forces formed by his Yuan Qi collapsed and shattered. Qin Mu's forty-five dragon forces merged into one, roaring into his chest!
Qin Mu had only just arrived at the Dragon Court Monastery, only just seen the Hundred Dragon Diagrams, and yet he had already grasped its true essence—something nearly impossible!
The middle-aged monk knew he was in trouble. He immediately deployed other dragon forms from the Hundred Dragon Diagrams, trying to break the changes in Qin Mu's fist's dragon force.
His cultivation was higher than Mingxin's, having opened the Six Harmonies Divine Treasury. His skills were extraordinary, and his Yuan Qi could take form, creating divine abilities.
The Dragon Court Monastery was one of the many halls of Great Thunderclap. Most monks training there were at the Five Luminaries or Six Harmonies realms, with some at the Seven Stars realm, like the monk Xinkong who had just burned himself to death.
Of course, the abbot of the Dragon Court Monastery was very powerful, but at this moment, Abbot Jingming and several other old monks were busy with Ma Ye and Blind Man, unable to intervene.
This middle-aged monk was already considered a top expert in the Dragon Court Monastery, but his Yuan Qi cultivation was no match for Qin Mu's, and he was far outclassed in the battle of dragon force variations.
"Damn it, I can't counter it..."
Monk Tanxin's face twisted in horror. His chest exploded with a bang, and the forty-five dragon forces burst out. Forty-nine ferocious dragon heads opened their jaws and roared in all directions, savage and brutal.
Blood splattered everywhere, flying onto the faces and robes of many monks.
Qin Mu shook his head. "If you hadn't harbored killing intent, I could have held back and spared your life. But since you were determined to kill me, I couldn't hold back."
The monks stood frozen in shock.
Suddenly, a monk pointed at him and shouted angrily, "He used demonic techniques to kill Senior Brother Tanxin! He used demonic techniques!"
Qin Mu's gaze fell on him, and he said slowly, "The Eight Forms of Thunder Sound are demonic techniques? I am at the Five Luminaries realm, and he was at the Six Harmonies realm. I killed him with the same technique. You refuse to admit that he was outmatched and call it demonic arts instead? Tathagata, your disciples shame you."
"Blasphemy! I will kill you!"
A furious shout rang out. A yellow-robed monk charged over, his Yuan Qi surging violently. He was at the peak of the Six Harmonies realm, his technique domineering like thunder.
Qin Mu didn't even look. He raised his hand, and the Shaobao Sword flew out—Sunset Over the Yong River. Sword light burst forth, and the yellow-robed monk was riddled with holes, his corpse falling. Qin Mu said coldly, "This is the Sunset Sword Technique of the Yuyuan Kingdom."
A monk lunged at Qin Mu from behind, about to strike a killing blow. Suddenly, a gate opened behind Qin Mu—the Gate of Undertaking.
The monk stumbled into the gate. A lamp shone, and his soul was sucked into the Nether Realm, drifting away on a boat.
The Gate of Undertaking closed behind Qin Mu. He said coldly, "This isn't a demonic technique either. It's the Gate of Undertaking from the Nether Realm."
"Kill this demon!"
Another monk charged. Qin Mu punched out. "Moyesa!"
The monk's soul was blasted out of his body and shattered in midair. Qin Mu roared in anger, "This is a demonic technique! Do you see it now? I'm not skilled in demonic techniques at all!"
—I went for a medical checkup at the hospital today (yes, the kind you mentioned, like swine flu tests and foot-and-mouth disease checks), which took some time. The second update tonight will be a bit later, around 9:30 PM.