Chapter 47: Third Person

In front of them, a massive dragon was coiled around the majestic palace, circling it again and again. Its enormous head was raised high above the main hall, gazing in their direction.

This was a dragon skeleton, a colossal framework of bones without flesh or blood. Its teeth alone were taller than Qin Mu.

Although the dragon had been dead for an unknown period, its formidable power was still evident, suggesting it must have been an exceptionally powerful being in life.

Qin Mu opened his Divine Firmament Heavenly Eye to look. Instantly, the dragon skeleton before him seemed to come alive, its divine light piercing the sky. The dragon appeared to writhe and coil in his vision; despite being dead, its immense aura made him feel as if it were still alive.

"The Dragon King of Yongjiang, a true dragon..."

As Qin Mu gazed at the dragon, his mind stirred, recalling Grandpa Ma's boxing technique: Nine Dragons Controlling Wind and Thunder, one of the Eight Forms of Thunder Sound. In Nine Dragons Controlling Wind and Thunder, vital energy is divided into nine layers of force. The first layer is the Furious Dragon's Charge, the second is the Double Dragon's Coil, and each subsequent layer adds another dragon's force compared to the last!

Qin Mu had practiced this move countless times since childhood with Grandpa Ma, but he had never truly grasped its essence. Only recently, with his significant advancement in cultivation, had the power of Nine Dragons Controlling Wind and Thunder greatly increased. However, he still suffered a disadvantage when facing the young monk Ming Xin.

While it was partly because he hadn't obtained the Great Vehicle Sutra of Tathagata from Great Thunderclap Temple, the primary reason was that his Nine Dragon Fist force merely *resembled* a dragon.

Resembling a dragon, rather than *being* a dragon, meant it was superficial and lacked substance, naturally collapsing at the slightest touch.

If his fist force had been that of a true dragon, then even without learning the Great Vehicle Sutra of Tathagata, his Nine Dragons Controlling Wind and Thunder would have been a genuine transmission.

This is because the fundamental principle of Nine Dragons Controlling Wind and Thunder is to emulate a true dragon's momentum in controlling wind and thunder. With the force of a thousand bolts of lightning, the divine dragon emerges from the thunder to attack and fight. If he could achieve this, whether he learned the Great Vehicle Sutra of Tathagata or not would be irrelevant.

"Nine Dragons Controlling Wind and Thunder, Nine Dragons Controlling Wind and Thunder..."

Qin Mu meticulously observed the dragon skeleton, his feet moving unconsciously. In his eyes, only the true dragon's bones remained. He studied the dragon's form, examined its skeletal structure, contemplated its posture, pondered its essence, experienced its aura, and mused on its spirit.

He became increasingly absorbed, walking and observing while making strange movements, his arms and body unconsciously mimicking every action of a true dragon.

Unbeknownst to him, his vital energy also began to circulate within his body like a true dragon, cycling repeatedly, adding more and more detail to his understanding.

Meanwhile, within his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, his spirit embryo also moved with him, inhaling and exhaling vital energy, gradually undergoing a wondrous transformation. The vital energy he exhaled did not re-enter Qin Mu's body; instead, it circulated around him, forming a small dragon. As more vital energy was inhaled and exhaled, this small dragon gradually grew, slowly reaching a height taller than a person, coiling around his spirit embryo.

Fox Spirit began in fear, but as time passed, her apprehension gradually lessened, no longer so intense. However, Qin Mu was so engrossed in studying the dragon bones that he completely forgot about her.

After a long while, Fox Spirit's stomach rumbled. She carefully dismounted from Qin Mu's back and tiptoed out of the underwater dragon palace. She wasn't worried about disturbing Qin Mu, but rather harbored a natural fear of dragons, fearing her own noise might be too loud and disturb the dragon skeleton.

Half an hour later, the white fox returned from outside, carrying a bag filled with strange, dandelion-like creatures.

Resisting her inner fear of the dragon bones, Fox Spirit walked into the mist, approached Qin Mu, then climbed onto him, sat on his shoulder, and placed one of those creatures into his mouth.

Qin Mu ate it obediently, opening his mouth when food was offered, as if completely unaware.

Fox Spirit fed him over twenty of the strange creatures before she began to munch on some herself.

Qin Mu showed no signs of waking, continuing to move constantly, his eyes fixed on the dragon bones. Sometimes, he even climbed onto the skeleton, moving around its colossal frame.

Coiling around his spirit embryo was a green dragon, crackling with flashes of electricity. However, Qin Mu was still concentrating intently on observing the dragon bones and did not notice.

Unaware of the passage of time, two days went by. Qin Mu ate, drank, relieved himself, and slept all in this spot, his body long since becoming smelly, yet there was still no sign of him waking up.

Fox Spirit was very patient. These past few days, she had taken care of his needs. When Qin Mu was thirsty, she would fetch water in a leaf. When he was hungry, she would catch the strange creatures from the passage. However, she had to pass through a pool of water, where strange fish lurked, ready to devour her if she wasn't careful. Fortunately, she was quick-witted and avoided any mishaps.

Of course, she would still hide when Qin Mu needed to relieve himself.

On the third day, as Fox Spirit was about to fetch some water, Qin Mu's voice suddenly came, surprised: "Why am I so dirty?"

Fox Spirit was both surprised and delighted, chirping, "You've been standing here for three days! It'd be strange if you *weren't* dirty!"

"Three days?"

Qin Mu was startled, exclaiming, "Oh no! I haven't been back for three days; everyone in the village must be worried sick! Come on, let's hurry back!"

Suddenly, he stopped again and said, "If we go back now, I'll definitely get scolded, and they might not even let me out again. Since we're already here, why don't we go explore the dragon palace? We might find some treasures."

Full of excitement, he entered the underwater dragon palace. Fox Spirit bravely followed him into the majestic building, though being timid, she only dared to stay close to Qin Mu's leg, not venturing far.

This grand hall was also enveloped in a dense, boundless mist, making it impossible to see far.

"Strange, what is emitting this mist?"

Qin Mu wondered. This mist was not water vapor, and even his Divine Firmament Heavenly Eye couldn't see far through it. The deeper they went into the hall, the thicker the mist became, and the shorter their visibility. Fox Spirit grew even more terrified, biting onto Qin Mu's trouser leg and letting him lead the way.

At that moment, he heard a strange sound: soft, drawn-out, yet imbued with a sense of sorrow, like someone singing a melancholic song in the mist, though he couldn't understand the words.

It was an ancient language, mysterious and obscure, as old as the tongue of gods or devils.

As Qin Mu listened, he raised a hand to touch his cheek, realizing he had unconsciously burst into tears.

The singing made him feel as if there was a woman drifting through the mist, recounting a heartbreaking tale.

Suddenly, the golden rings on his Sarira Staff of Empty Quarters began to clang loudly and annoyingly.

"Grandpa Ma said the golden rings on the Sarira Staff of Empty Quarters have the effect of dispelling distracting and malicious thoughts. When the heart stirs, the rings move; one distracting or malicious thought makes a ring sound. Now these rings are clanging like a sieve sifting copper beans, ringing incessantly. Do I really have so many distracting and malicious thoughts?"

Qin Mu looked down, unable to help but laugh wryly. Fox Spirit was trembling uncontrollably, clutching his leg tightly, but her tail was resting on the Sarira Staff. It wasn't Qin Mu's heart that was unsettled, but the little fox's.

"Ling'er, move your tail away a bit," Qin Mu said.

Fox Spirit moved her tail aside but continued to tremble.

Qin Mu frowned. Even after Fox Spirit moved her tail, the golden rings on the Sarira Staff continued to shake and clang.

"Could there be a third person here, besides me and Fox Spirit? A third person teeming with malicious thoughts? Is it the woman who's singing?"

The golden rings of the Sarira Staff clanged with increasing urgency. This clearly indicated the presence of a third person whose distracting and malicious thoughts were so numerous that the Sarira Staff detected them and rang incessantly!

In the air, the singing drifted to and fro, growing even more sorrowful.

Qin Mu looked down and suddenly shivered. From within the mist, a bony, gnarled hand reached out towards the Sarira Staff. Before it could touch the staff, it trembled as if struck by lightning and silently retracted.

Qin Mu leaned on the Sarira Staff, looking around. His eyelid twitched. Within the surrounding mist, numerous withered, skeletal hands continuously reached out toward him, only to involuntarily retract upon encountering the Sarira Staff.

Meanwhile, the soft singing in the mist gradually became clearer, as if being sung right into his ear.

"What exactly is in the mist?"

His scalp tingled. Fox Spirit had already climbed up his trouser leg to his back, then burrowed into his embrace, hiding inside his clothes. Only her furry little head peeked out, secretly glancing around, shivering.

This scene was truly terrifying, and Qin Mu couldn't help but feel a little unsettled. However, the vibrating golden rings had a calming effect, quickly bringing his mind to peace.

He composed himself. With so many hands, it was clear they didn't belong to a single person.

"Whatever you are, disperse!"

Qin Mu's vital energy surged, flowing down his arm into the Sarira Staff of Empty Quarters. He lifted the staff and struck it down forcefully. With a loud clang, rays of light suddenly burst forth from the staff, shooting in all directions. Simultaneously, a Buddha's silhouette appeared behind him, seated cross-legged in the air, emitting a powerful chant.

"Thus have I heard!"

The Buddha's silhouette's voice resonated with the chant: "All sentient beings, since time without beginning, have continued in the cycle of birth and death, all because they do not know the true mind, the pure, luminous essence, and instead use various false thoughts. These thoughts are not true, and thus there is rebirth—rebirth—rebirth—rebirth—"