Chapter 250: Words Kill

Qin Mu felt a surge of warmth upon seeing someone he knew. Since childhood, he had associated with the blind and the crippled, and from the time he could remember, he had learned various subjects from the nine elders of Disabled Elder Village. It could be said that his childhood had no playmates and was very dull.

Although he had only fought Monk Mingxin once, they were peers after all, so it was natural for him to feel a sense of familiarity.

Monk Mingxin recited a Buddhist phrase, suppressing a rising surge of anger. He smiled and said, "You defeated me that day, but you might not be able to defeat me now. When I was defeated by you, I reflected deeply and corrected my flaws. How about another match?"

Qin Mu asked in surprise, "You fixed the flaw in your throat?"

Monk Mingxin smugly replied, "Last time, I lost because you struck my throat. This time, I absolutely won't let you succeed!"

Qin Mu exclaimed, "Little Monk Mingxin, how old are you to be wantonly altering the Mahayana Sutra of Tathagata? With your current insight and knowledge, you'll only introduce more errors and more flaws with every change! Instead of haphazardly changing it yourself, why don't you directly ask Tathagata to teach you... Hmm, I also haphazardly alter cultivation methods, and my own methods have been changed beyond recognition. I guess I can't really criticize you."

Qin Mu felt a bit embarrassed. He too had altered cultivation methods. His Tyrant Body Three Elixirs Technique had been modified by him more than once, and he had integrated the Great Educational Heavenly Devil Scripture with the Tyrant Body Three Elixirs Technique, resolving the flaw in the latter's left shoulder.

Criticizing Monk Mingxin for wantonly altering his cultivation method was like the pot calling the kettle black. Perhaps Monk Mingxin really had eliminated the flaw in his throat.

Monk Mingxin, eager to act, asked, "Then, may I request your guidance?"

As Qin Mu was about to speak, an old monk suddenly interjected, "Disciple, do not be rude. This is Cult Master Qin of the Heavenly Devil Cult!"

Monk Mingxin was startled and blurted out, "When did you become an old devil of the Heavenly Devil Cult?"

Qin Mu sighed, "The details are hard to explain. I didn't want to, but I was forced into the position of Cult Master, so I had no choice but to take on the role."

He looked at the old monk who had spoken. It was Reverend Jingming. This old monk was Mingxin's master. True to his name, he was very shrewd. Just now, he had loudly pointed out that Qin Mu was the Devil Cult Master of the Heavenly Devil Cult. In fact, it wasn't to remind Mingxin, but to inform all the monks present.

After his loud declaration, many monks who were studying the Hundred Dragons Scroll all turned to look at Qin Mu. Each of them softly chanted Buddhist names, evidently finding it difficult to contain themselves and suppress the urge to subdue demons and devils.

Monk Mingxin quickly said, "Then you should withdraw quickly! Don't be the Devil Cult Master, you'll die! Many eminent monks in our temple hate evil like fire and are accustomed to slaying devils. Every time they go out, they subdue several devils to accumulate merit. You'll be beaten to death! I won't spar with you. Hurry and flee down the mountain."

Qin Mu shook his head, "Thank you for your kindness. However, I'm currently a guest, and Old Tathagata is my senior brother. He told me to stay at the temple. If that's the case, will they still subdue demons?"

Monk Mingxin hesitated, then said, "I can't say for sure about that. They'll most likely seek you out for a debate, to persuade you to turn from evil to good. If they can't win the debate against you, they'll probably still beat you to death."

Qin Mu was speechless. Sure enough, he saw several monks walking towards them.

"Amitabha!" A monk, taking the lead, put his palms together and challenged, "Devil, do you dare to debate the Dharma with me?"

Qin Mu asked, "Have you emptied the four elements?"

The monk was slightly taken aback and shook his head, "Not yet."

"Then what Dharma are you debating?" Qin Mu chuckled dismissively, "You yourself haven't attained enlightenment. You're only a fake monk who can merely boast with words, with only six of your seven apertures open and one still blocked. Withdraw."

The monk was dumbfounded. Another monk beside him quickly said, "Devil, let me speak to you of truth, goodness, and beauty..."

Qin Mu asked, "Are you a Tathagata?"

The monk's face flushed red, "I'm not yet a Tathagata..."

"Then you haven't even grasped the 'truth'." Qin Mu chuckled, "A Tathagata embodies ultimate truth, achieving true reality. If you yourself are not yet true, how can you speak of truth, goodness, and beauty? Step down, don't make a fool of yourself. Speak when you've achieved it. Don't demand from me what you cannot achieve yourself. Stop being lenient with yourself and strict with others."

The monk was left speechless. Another monk pointed, and golden springs gushed from the earth, blossoming into lotus flowers. He said, "Buddhist scriptures speak of Anuttarā-samyak-sambodhi, supreme perfect enlightenment, the highest wisdom and awakening..."

Qin Mu asked, "Have you attained the highest wisdom and awakening?"

"I..."

"Withdraw."

Another monk laughed heartily, "Cult Master Qin is eloquent. I tried to talk to you about Buddhist scriptures, but you ignored me. So, let me talk to you about worldly matters."

Qin Mu became interested and said, "Venerable monk, don't speak yet. Let me ask you: if everyone became a Buddhist, stopped production, didn't marry or have children, would humanity become extinct after a hundred years? What grudge or hatred do humans have against you? Why do you want to extinguish humanity?"

The monk was stunned for a moment, then said, "That's not what I want to talk about. Your Heavenly Devil Cult commits many evils, and its magic is wicked, using living people for cultivation..."

Qin Mu interjected, "How does that compare to the extinction of humanity?"

The monk's eyes widened. Suppressing his anger, he retorted, "What you're talking about is not the same thing as what I'm talking about!"

Qin Mu said, "Then let's talk about the same thing. I encountered a Holy Church Master who used infants for cultivation, and I've already killed him. Just now, at the foot of Mount Meru, I saw a Buddhist temple raising exotic beasts, feeding them blood and flesh mixed with anesthetics to deceive the world. Where did the blood and flesh come from? Was it from killing sentient beings? I've dealt with the degenerates in my cult; now it's your turn. Go destroy that temple and kill those monks."

The monk angrily said, "I'm not talking about that! I'm talking about doctrine! Our Great Thunderclap Temple has countless Buddhist scriptures, and every one of them is worthy of being passed down through generations, teaching people to be good!"

Qin Mu said in surprise, "Your own Buddhist sect still harbors filth and hasn't cleaned itself up. If the monks in the temple aren't even good themselves, how can they teach others to be good? Fools love to be teachers, yet they can't practice what they preach. Enough. You talk about doctrine, and I'll talk about doctrine with you. The path of a sage is no different from the daily lives of common people. Can your Buddhist Dharma be used by ordinary people in their daily lives? If it can't be used, and only recorded in books, what's its purpose? If it has no use, you might as well burn it."

"You devil!" The monk became furious and was about to pounce, shouting, "Absurd heresies! You casually talk about burning sutras and destroying Buddhism! You truly have deep devilishness! I'll fight you!"

"Wait." Qin Mu raised a hand and smiled, "You want to kill me? Let me ask you, do Buddhist scriptures permit you to take a life?"

The monk stopped, suppressing his anger, and said, "Buddhist scriptures advise people to be good and not to kill. However, even the Buddha himself has moments of wrath when facing devils, a day to subdue demons!"

Qin Mu asked, "Is a blade of grass a life?"

The monk huffed, "Of course it is."

"Grass grows seeds, and many grass seeds are grains. Grains are also life. Why do you eat life? You abstain from meat and chant sutras daily, thinking of goodness, beauty, and truth, yet you don't know how many lives you consume with each bite?"

Qin Mu said, "The older you get, the more lives you consume. What right do you have to speak of the Buddha's heart or a benevolent heart?"

He took out a flower seed from his Taotie pouch, held it in his palm, and performed the Creation Earthly Yuan Technique. He saw the flower seed sprout a tender shoot, the shoot grow, and roots break through the shell. In moments, a spiritual herb grew in his hand. The herb was fresh and tender, producing a bud. The bud trembled slightly, and a vibrant flower bloomed, exquisitely beautiful.

"Is it beautiful?" Qin Mu asked.

The monk was somewhat entranced and nodded, "Beautiful."

Qin Mu placed the flower in his hand and said, "Like grains, flower seeds are also beautiful lives. How many have you eaten? When will you repay them? If they were to gain sentience and become demons, would they cry out that you devoured billions of their kind? Do you ever think of the countless wronged souls of plants and flowers encircling you, waiting day and night for you to pay with your life?"

The monk held the fresh flower in both hands, his face growing increasingly ashen. He felt that the flower's exquisite beauty had become monstrous and terrifying, demanding his life. Suddenly, the monk sat cross-legged and, shedding tears, said, "I have consumed countless of your kind; my sins are profound and impossible to absolve! May I become a pile of ashes to nourish you!"

With that, karmic fire ignited around the monk, instantly reducing his physical body to ashes. Although the karmic fire consumed him completely, it did not harm the flower in the slightest. The flower fell into the ashes, still vibrant and dewy.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Cultivating Buddhism proves useless in the end, only fit for planting flowers and fertilizing." Qin Mu bent down, gathered the ashes, and planted the flower. He said, "Monk, you were useless your whole life, but after death, you finally became useful. This flower should grow well. It will produce many seeds and bloom into more flowers. If you have consciousness in the afterlife, you should be comforted. Your ashes became fertilizer, and although flowers are not common people, this still fulfills the saying: 'no different from the daily lives of common people'. Well done. You and I are now on the same path."

He stood up and surveyed his surroundings. Although young, he possessed the bearing of a cult master. He calmly asked, "Which other venerable monk wishes to debate the Dharma with me?"

Silence fell all around.

Qin Mu's gaze met that of several dignified monks. They quickly averted their eyes, not daring to meet his gaze.

Old Man Ma and the Blind Man stood in the distance, chatting idly with the old monks. The Blind Man laughed, "If Mu'er stays at the Great Thunderclap Temple, and these monks don't immediately kill him, then it won't be long before half the monks of the Great Thunderclap Temple return to secular life. Another small portion will suffer qi deviation. Those who don't suffer qi deviation are all fake monks. He's truly even more formidable than Granny Si."

Suddenly, a monk sharply cried out, "He's a devil! A Heavenly Devil! He's misleading the masses with his demonic words!"

Another monk shouted, "He killed Senior Brother Xinkong with his demonic words! We cannot let this devil live! Kill him to eliminate the demon!"

Instantly, the crowd became agitated, raising their voices to demand Qin Mu's death for subduing demons and devils.

Qin Mu burst into laughter, his laughter growing louder and louder. Gradually, the shouts of killing around him faded, and only Qin Mu's laughter continued.

The laughter gradually subsided. Qin Mu said forlornly, "You wanted to debate the Dharma, and I debated the Dharma with you. When I debated the Dharma with you, you then started talking about doctrine. Alright, let's talk about doctrine. When you couldn't out-debate me, you started talking about killing. Alright, let's talk about killing again. You couldn't out-debate me on killing either, and now you want to kill me. What kind of Buddhism are you cultivating? Withdraw. Go back to secular life."

Some monks looked bewildered, feeling empty inside. After a moment, some of them sighed and indeed turned to leave, packing their belongings and heading down the mountain.

The other monks did not withdraw, their expressions grim.

Qin Mu shook his head and chuckled, "In the end, it still comes down to fighting, doesn't it? If I had known this, why bother with empty words!"

His spirits invigorated, he scanned his surroundings, his gaze like lightning. "Who wants to die?"