Chapter 254: The Root of Disaster
Buddha Heart let out a turbid breath. Back in his day, he too had broken through four heavenly realms in succession, reaching the state of Sun Palace Heavenly Lord. When he reached the Marici Heavenly Court, he had failed to cultivate it, but even so, he was still worthy of being called a Buddha Son.
Didn’t this mean that Qin Mu also possessed a Buddha Heart, on par with his own?
If Qin Mu continued forward and broke through the Marici state of mind, wouldn’t that mean this demon’s Buddha Heart and Buddha Nature were even stronger than his?
How could a demon have more Buddha Nature than someone who cultivates Buddhism?
They arrived at the Marici Heavenly Court. Qin Mu listened to the sutras, and before long, light and flame flickered from his body.
Buddha Heart’s mind roared, blasting him into a daze. Qin Mu, the demon among demons, had actually cultivated straight through to the fifth heavenly realm, with the same aptitude and Buddha Heart as Horse King God!
How could this be?
He was a demon, clearly a great demon! Demons cannot cultivate the Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra!
Buddha Heart, the Buddha Son, steadied himself. He was already the monk with the highest aptitude, the keenest understanding, and the best Buddha Heart in Great Thunderclap Monastery over the past century. He never expected to be surpassed by a demon.
The group arrived at the Hariti Heavenly Court. At this checkpoint, Qin Mu finally encountered difficulty and failed to cultivate the sixth heavenly realm of the Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra.
Buddha Heart was utterly dejected. Qin Mu had cultivated five heavenly realms in one go—this was already the aptitude of a Tathagata!
“If he were to convert to Buddhism, Master would most likely choose him as the next Tathagata…”
His heart was filled with anxiety and uncertainty. Suddenly, a thought arose: “I cannot let him become a disciple of the Tathagata. The next Tathagata can only be me!”
Once this thought emerged, it could not be suppressed.
“Buddha Son, I heard that the Yankang National Teacher once came here. How many heavenly realms did he cultivate?” Qin Mu suddenly asked.
Buddha Heart steadied himself and said, “The National Teacher came here one or two hundred years ago. I heard from the monastery’s elders that the Tathagata accompanied him at the time, and the Yankang National Teacher comprehended seven heavenly realms in a short time.”
Qin Mu was startled and shook his head. “No wonder he’s called a once-in-five-hundred-years genius. I can’t compare.”
Horse Lord was also amazed. “The Yankang National Teacher actually comprehended seven heavenly realms in one go? Remarkable! If he entered Buddhism, he would be a Tathagata; if he entered Daoism, he would be a Dao Lord; if he entered your Heavenly Saint Cult, he would be a Saintly Cult Leader! Such talent is rare in the world!”
Blind also praised him endlessly, saying, “It’s no injustice that Cripple lost a leg to him.”
Horse Lord and Blind led them all the way to the top floor of the Twenty Heavenly Realms Pagoda. Unbeknownst to them, two or three days passed. Qin Mu had also listened to the entire explanation of the twenty heavenly realms of the Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra and had to admire its exquisite subtlety, no less than the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra.
He had no intention of cultivating the Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra, but a stone from another mountain can polish jade. The Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra held great reference value for him.
Buddha Heart glanced at Qin Mu, his eyes flickering. “Cult Leader Qin’s aptitude is not bad either. Cult Leader, I have shown you the Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra of our Great Thunderclap Monastery. I wonder if this humble monk could peruse the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra?”
Qin Mu took a ball of thread from his glutton sack and said generously, “What’s the harm? In my cult, anyone can learn the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra. Even spreading it outside is no big deal.”
He pinched the thread end and gently pulled it. Instantly, countless characters surged out, rolling through the air.
Qin Mu did not hold back and directly revealed the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra before Buddha Heart.
When Buddha Heart saw the first sentence of the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra, his face changed drastically. He felt it conflicted with Buddhist principles. As he read on and saw the Seven Chapters of Creation, he couldn’t help frowning repeatedly. “This is truly a demonic cult technique, without a shred of good intention—all evil methods teaching people to do wrong! Cult Leader, put it away. This humble monk cannot bear to see this!”
Qin Mu was surprised, put away the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra, and it returned to a ball of thread.
Just then, a monk hurried over and whispered something in Buddha Heart’s ear. Buddha Heart was startled, then remained composed, bowed, and said, “Three honored guests, it is getting late. Please return to your meditation rooms to rest.”
Blind yawned and said, “We are guests, so we follow the host’s arrangements. Mu’er, Old Horse Lord, let’s go back to our rooms to rest.”
The three descended the tall pagoda. Blind suddenly said, “That monk just told Buddha Heart that the Crown Prince of Yankang has arrived and is seeking an audience with the old Tathagata.”
Qin Mu’s heart trembled slightly. The Crown Prince of Yankang?
What was the Crown Prince of Yankang doing at Great Thunderclap Monastery at this time?
What scheme did he have in seeking an audience with the old Tathagata?
Blind’s ears twitched. “Buddha Heart had the monk lead the Yankang Crown Prince to the Great Hero Hall, while he himself went to the Thousand Buddha Pagoda to notify the Tathagata… He entered the Thousand Buddha Pagoda. I can’t hear or see what’s happening inside. The Tathagata came out and told the monks in the Thousand Buddha Pagoda to do their utmost first, chanting true words to suppress Li Tianxing inside.”
Horse Lord’s face changed, and he quickly said, “How could those monks’ Buddhist teachings suppress Li Tianxing? The Tathagata was careless! The thousand Buddhas in the pagoda are dead. Even if the monks use true words to activate the Buddha bodies’ vitality, they can’t suppress Li Tianxing! Hurry to the Thousand Buddha Pagoda, or Li Tianxing will escape!”
The three hurried toward the Golden Summit. Qin Mu was slower than them. Passing by his own lodging, he saw Dragon Qilin still lying there snoring loudly, with the old monk beside him still chanting sutras at Dragon Qilin.
“Fatty Dragon!”
Qin Mu quickly shouted. Dragon Qilin immediately woke up and ran over, leaving the old monk behind. The old monk angrily said, “Beast! Not a shred of spiritual root!”
Qin Mu leaped onto Dragon Qilin’s back and said, “Fastest speed to the Golden Summit!”
Dragon Qilin said, “Cult Leader, you haven’t come back these past few days, and you haven’t fed me yet.”
Qin Mu shouted, “Get to the Golden Summit as fast as possible, and I’ll give you two pecks!”
Dragon Qilin’s spirits soared, and he charged madly toward the Golden Summit.
At the Golden Summit’s Thousand Buddha Pagoda, inside the pagoda were the physical bodies of successive Tathagatas. Outside, monks sat on the eaves, roof, and at the windows, using Buddhist true words to activate the vitality of the Tathagata bodies within the pagoda.
Within those physical bodies, the Buddhist true words transformed into tangible characters, like great dragons shuttling through the pagoda, all surging into Granny Si’s brow to suppress and refine the heart demon Li Tianxing.
Over the past few days, the old Tathagata had personally led the monks, using the Buddha Nature hidden in the physical bodies of successive Tathagatas to suppress and refine Li Tianxing. They had achieved considerable results, wearing down Li Tianxing’s primordial spirit considerably, and Granny Si was waking up more and more often.
Thus, he felt confident enough to leave and entrust the suppression to the monks, especially since so many Tathagata physical bodies were sitting in the pagoda.
But at that moment, Granny Si’s pupils suddenly turned pitch black. She let out a giggle, and a seductive voice came from the pagoda, like a lover whispering in one’s ear, drilling into the ears of the monks outside and into their hearts. Instantly, the monks’ Buddha Hearts were thrown into chaos, and heavenly demons sprouted within their Buddha Hearts.
“Steady!”
An old monk shouted sternly, “Don’t listen to her voice!”
As soon as he spoke, a beautiful face suddenly emerged from the pagoda and smiled at him infatuatedly. The old monk’s Buddha Heart bred heavenly demons, and the Buddha light behind his head, like a wheel, suddenly dimmed, and he fell from the pagoda.
“Damn it!”
Another old monk loudly chanted the Buddha’s name, raised his hand, and thrust two fingers toward his own eyes, intending not to look at Granny Si’s face. With a ruthless heart, he gouged out his own eyes. But then, a light laugh reached his ears, drilling into his Buddha Heart and scratching at it.
The old monk gritted his teeth and thrust two fingers into his own ears, piercing his eardrums so he couldn’t hear her voice.
His face and head covered in blood, the old monk loudly recited Buddhist sutras, stirring the Tathagata physical bodies in the pagoda. He couldn’t see or hear, so he didn’t witness the monks falling from the pagoda or hear the sound of their bodies hitting the ground.
Suddenly, he felt a smooth, delicate hand gently caressing his face and bald head with just the right warmth.
The old monk’s body trembled, and the Buddha light behind his head exploded with a bang. He fell from the Thousand Buddha Pagoda.
Qin Mu urged Dragon Qilin to rush to the Golden Summit, only to see the monks on the Thousand Buddha Pagoda falling in disarray, scattered all over the ground. Horse Lord and Blind shot into the air, chasing after Granny Si, who had broken free from the pagoda’s suppression.
The two moved extremely fast, vanishing in an instant, leaving even Dragon Qilin far behind.
Qin Mu was stunned. “You guys…”
The Golden Summit was in chaos. Horse Lord and Blind were nowhere to be seen, leaving him alone, sitting on Dragon Qilin’s back.
The young man was dazed for a moment, then said wryly, “I wonder if Great Thunderclap Monastery would be willing to let me, the Heavenly Demon Cult Leader, go back. Going alone into enemy territory really doesn’t feel good. No adults to back me up…”
The old Tathagata had just sat down in the Great Hero Hall and hadn’t even had time to exchange pleasantries with the Yankang Crown Prince when a monk rushed in to report, “World-Honored One, Li Tianxing has escaped!”
The old Tathagata was taken aback, then shook his head. “I underestimated him. I thought that as a dignified demon cult leader, he wouldn’t stoop to learning seduction techniques. I didn’t expect he had hidden that trick. Since I failed to suppress and refine him, let the Heavenly Demon Cult Leader leave the mountain.”
The Yankang Crown Prince was surprised. “The Heavenly Demon Cult Leader is at Great Thunderclap Monastery? Is he the same as my court’s Zhong San Da Fu, Qin Mu?”
The old Tathagata nodded. “It is him.”
The Yankang Crown Prince was overjoyed. “My Buddha, this man is the Heavenly Demon Cult Leader, guilty of countless evils. You absolutely cannot let him leave. It would be better to eliminate this root of disaster on the mountain for the world!”
The old Tathagata shook his head. “He came up the mountain seeking my help, so I kept him here. Now that I have failed to fulfill his request, I will allow him to leave the mountain without obstruction. Our Great Thunderclap Monastery does not act like a demon.”
The Yankang Crown Prince was about to speak further when Buddha Heart, the Buddha Son, quickly rose and said, “World-Honored One, I will see Cult Leader Qin down the mountain.”
The old Tathagata nodded and looked at the Yankang Crown Prince. “Crown Prince, I know why you have come, and I know what you seek. It is precisely because it concerns the fate of the world that I hurried to meet you, allowing Li Tianxing to take advantage. Poor Master and the others have likely already seen you, haven’t they?”
The Yankang Crown Prince nodded. “They cannot handle my father, so they begged my Buddha to intervene.”
The old Tathagata smiled. “His Majesty’s Nine Dragons Imperial Art has been cultivated to its peak. There are indeed few in the world who can handle His Majesty, and I am one of them.”
At that moment, Buddha Heart, the Buddha Son, came to see Qin Mu, his eyes flickering. “Cult Leader Qin, the World-Honored One has ordered me to see you down the mountain.”