Chapter 38: Tathagata Mahayana Sutra

Hearing this, the young monk Mingxin flew into a rage and rebuked, "This is sacrilege! How dare you insult the Buddha!"

Qin Mu smiled, his heart settling into complete tranquility, and his eyes filled with unparalleled confidence. No matter how strong the young monk was or what cultivation techniques he used, he had already lost in terms of mental state!

The old monk opposite Grandpa Ma hesitated. Qin Mu's words seemed utterly lawless, insulting not only the Buddha but also gods and demons. However, to the old monk, they were not sacrilege but profound truths!

Only with no Buddha in the heart can one become a Buddha.

With a Buddha in the heart, one can never become a Buddha.

Only with no demon in the heart can one become a demon.

With a demon in the heart, one can never become a demon.

Mingxin had not yet reached the level of understanding to grasp these words, but the old monk had already experienced their profound meaning. He had only comprehended the true meaning of these words after reaching the Celestial Realm. However, he had now cultivated to the Life-and-Death Realm, and the Buddha in his heart remained unbroken. The deeper his cultivation, the more he understood the terror of gods and demons, and the vastness of the Tathagata.

Knowing is easy; doing is hard.

The same profound truth, spoken by a young child like Qin Mu, seemed incredibly strange. Even stranger was the fact that this child claimed to have shattered the gods and Buddhas within his heart!

Qin Mu was too young to possibly grasp the true meaning of these words. If he couldn't grasp the truth, how could he have shattered the gods and Buddhas in his heart?

Shattering the gods and Buddhas within one's heart required arduous cultivation and sudden enlightenment; otherwise, the Buddha in one's heart would remain a Buddha, and the demon would remain a demon.

"No matter what, he hasn't obtained the true profound arts of my Great Thunder Sound Temple. Even with a high mental state, he won't be a match for Mingxin."

The old monk sat in meditation, seemingly unconcerned about the outcome of the match on the stage.

On the arena, Mingxin's tall, slender body faintly shimmered with golden light. The young monk inexplicably gave off the aura of a Buddha: sacred, solemn, and vast, bringing an unparalleled spiritual pressure to those around him!

Below the arena, men, women, old, and young from various villages had gathered, drawn to the spectacle. The area, originally bustling with noise, fell into sudden, complete silence as Mingxin's body radiated golden light.

They all shut their mouths almost simultaneously, as if struck by a sudden, powerful revelation!

This was the Buddhist mind technique, the Great Vehicle Sutra of Tathagata.

The cultivation path of this mind technique differed from that of other sects. It progressed from the exterior to the interior: the exterior was the body (Tathagata Embodiment), and the interior was the mind (Tathagata Mind). Buddhism referred to these as Embodiment-like and Mind-like.

Although Mingxin had only cultivated to the superficial level of the Embodiment-like, the mere manifestation of his Buddha-like form could deliver a powerful mental shock!

Granny Si and the others grew tense again. Mingxin hadn't even attacked yet, but his mere aura was enough to intimidate Qin Mu and dampen his fighting spirit.

Who would dare strike a Buddha?

But Qin Mu dared!

Qin Mu unified his body and mind, mind and intent, intent and fist, fist and qi, and qi and body. Simultaneously, his spirit embryo moved in unison with his body, unifying body and spirit, as he unleashed Nine Dragons Riding the Wind and Thunder!

His footwork, the Cripple's Sky-Stealing Divine Legs, was incredibly fast. Before Mingxin could even blink, Qin Mu was already in front of him. Before Mingxin could raise a hand, Qin Mu's magnificent punch slammed into his chest.

The Nine Dragons Riding the Wind and Thunder technique contained nine layers of power hidden within a single punch. The first layer, like a fiery dragon, struck Mingxin's chest from Qin Mu's fist, emitting a resounding clang.

The golden light on Mingxin's body suddenly brightened, and a faint golden bell appeared.

Qin Mu's second layer of power followed immediately. This second layer, the Twin Dragon Entanglement, involved two dragon-like forces twisting together and drilling towards Mingxin's solar plexus!

Clang!

Another bell rang out. The two forces came so quickly that the two clang sounds were almost simultaneous, deafeningly loud!

Then came the third layer of Nine Dragons Riding the Wind and Thunder, the Three Dragons Crushing Stone force, followed by the fourth layer's Four Dragons Pouncing Kill, the fifth layer's Five Dragons Refining Demon force, the sixth layer's Six Dragons Reincarnation force, and the seventh layer's Seven Dragons Overturning Sea!

With seven consecutive bursts of power, seven bell chimes merged into one continuous sound. The golden bell on Mingxin's body finally dimmed, forcing the tall, slender young monk to take a step back.

The eighth layer of power, the Eight Divisions Heavenly Dragon force, exploded, causing Mingxin to retreat again. The golden bell on his body regained its luster, but then Qin Mu's ninth layer of power, the Nine Dragons Wind and Thunder, erupted, shattering the golden bell on Mingxin's body.

Qin Mu was surprised. Even the demonic ape couldn't withstand the full nine layers of power from Nine Dragons Riding the Wind and Thunder; whenever Qin Mu fought it, he would stop after six or seven layers to avoid severely injuring or killing it. Yet, Mingxin had not dodged, enduring the full nine layers of power head-on!

He had heard Granny Si's words and held nothing back this time, using his full strength and even drawing upon the power of his spirit embryo divine treasure. Yet, he had only forced Mingxin back a few steps.

"You haven't received the true transmission of the Eight Forms of Thunder Sound."

Mingxin moved his feet, and the vital qi beneath his soles erupted, making him incredibly fast. He raised a palm, and thunderous sounds burst forth. A punch then slammed out, astonishingly accompanied by a dragon's roar.

Boom—

Before this punch even landed on Qin Mu, his vital qi transformed into a green dragon. Though faint, it was ferocious, malevolent, and incredibly domineering!

The first layer of Nine Dragons Riding the Wind and Thunder was astonishingly manifested by his vital qi. This showed his vital qi was also extremely abundant. More critically, he possessed a mind technique that perfectly complemented the Eight Forms of Thunder Sound, a part that Qin Mu precisely lacked!

Qin Mu braced himself for the blow, only to find the first layer of power surprisingly potent. Before he could fully absorb that impact, the second layer of Nine Dragons Riding the Wind and Thunder, the Twin Dragon Entanglement, followed. Two dragon-shaped vital qi currents twisted together, bending Qin Mu's arms, and then the third layer, the Three Dragons Crushing Stone force, directly slammed into his arms!

Blood appeared on Qin Mu's arms, and he stumbled backward repeatedly, his steps causing stones on the arena to fly everywhere.

Four streams of dragon qi lunged at him. Qin Mu grunted, vital qi surging into his eyes, instantly activating his Divine Firmament Heavenly Eye. The vital qi in his hand transformed into a long spear, which he thrust forward. It passed between the four pouncing dragons and struck Mingxin's palm with a sharp clang. Mingxin's Five Dragons Refining Demon force had not yet erupted when it was dissipated by this spear thrust.

As the two forces collided, the vital qi spear in Qin Mu's hand also crumbled and dispersed.

Qin Mu raised an eyebrow and looked at Mingxin's palm, where a drop of blood trickled down his fingertip. His palm had been pierced by the spear just now.

Of course, Qin Mu's arms were covered in blood and bruises, his injuries far more severe than Mingxin's.

Qin Mu took a long breath, his vital qi suddenly becoming fiery. He moved swiftly, lunging towards Mingxin.

Alone in the East Sea, Carrying Spring Thunder!

This time, he didn't use the power of water but fire, like a rolling river of fire descending from the heavens, rushing into the sea, threatening to ignite it!

The young monk Mingxin remained unmoved. He raised his hand to meet the attack, his eyes incredibly bright. "Without a mind technique, everything is illusory, mere superficiality."

He also unleashed Alone in the East Sea, Carrying Spring Thunder. With a movement of his palm, a thunderbolt burst forth from his palm. The sound of thunder, meant to shatter the soul, rang out, and Qin Mu's fiery, ferocious aura instantly disintegrated!

However, at that very moment, Qin Mu's hands suddenly burst into flames. Using his hands as blades, he chopped at Mingxin like a madman!

Butcher's Knife Technique, Sun Blazing Over the East Sea, Thousand Layered Waves!

This was an incredibly wild move. The Butcher's Knife Technique, to unleash its supreme power, required a certain madness. It evoked the image of the rising sun, a thousand waves of the East Sea stacking up, with an unmatched blade force to cut through and shatter everything in its path!

Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop!

A thousand waves superimposed, a thousand blades superimposed! There was nothing that couldn't be chopped to death, nothing that couldn't be chopped to pieces!

Mingxin's expression subtly changed, but Qin Mu frowned. He recognized the move Mingxin was about to unleash: the eighth form of the Eight Forms of Thunder Sound, Thousand-Armed Buddha!

The young monk met Qin Mu's hands with his own, like a Thousand-Armed Buddha, blocking his furious blades!

Qin Mu's heart sank slightly. His hands were not actual blades but used as such, and Mingxin's defense was extremely strong, making it difficult to sever his palms.

"Then be quick! Faster, even faster! So fast you can't block my blades! Night Battle, Continuous City Wind and Rain!"

Qin Mu, like a madman, chopped relentlessly. He had only one thought in his mind: fast, fast, fast, a swift blade to sever the Buddha's head!

"In this world, there's no pig the Butcher's Knife Technique can't chop to death!" Qin Mu's vital qi surged wildly as he declared fiercely.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—

Mingxin desperately defended with the Thousand-Armed Buddha. Suddenly, he failed to block, and Qin Mu's hand-blade struck his throat, causing the great bell on his body to chime loudly. Then, a second blade broke through his Thousand-Armed Buddha defense, striking his throat again, followed by another chime.

The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth blades struck!

Qin Mu's strikes became progressively faster, landing one after another on the same spot on Mingxin: his throat!

"Senior Brother, you and I trained together in the same sect back then, and we know each other well. Your Thousand-Armed Buddha has a flaw," Grandpa Ma said calmly to the old monk. "It seems you've passed on that flaw to your disciple as well."