Chapter 38: The Mahayana Sutra of the Tathagata

Upon hearing this, the young monk Mingxin’s face contorted with anger. He rebuked sharply, “A great rebellion against the Dao! How dare you insult the Buddha!”

A serene smile touched Qin Mu’s lips. His heart had settled into profound tranquility, and his eyes gleamed with boundless confidence. Regardless of the young monk's strength or skill, in the realm of the heart, he had already been defeated!

Across from them, the venerable monk accompanying Ma Ye hesitated, lost in thought. Qin Mu’s seemingly audacious words, which not only insulted the Buddha but treated even gods and demons with similar disrespect, strangely resonated in his ears not as sacrilege, but as a declaration of profound truth!

When there is no Buddha in the heart, then one can become the Buddha.When there is a Buddha in the heart, then one can no longer become the Buddha.When there is no demon in the heart, then one can become a demon.When there is a demon in the heart, then one can no longer become a demon.

Mingxin's realm had not yet reached this level; he had not experienced the truth of these words. But this venerable monk had experienced it deeply. He had only truly comprehended this truth after stepping into the Heaven-Human realm. Yet, though he had now cultivated to the Life-Death realm, the Buddha in his heart remained an unbreakable barrier. The deeper his cultivation, the more he understood the terror of gods and demons, the vaster the power of the Tathagata.

Knowing is easy, doing is difficult.

The same principle, uttered from the mouth of this young boy, seemed exceedingly strange. Stranger still was the child's claim to have broken the gods and Buddhas within his own heart!

Qin Mu was too young; it was fundamentally impossible for him to grasp the true meaning of this statement. If he could not grasp its true meaning, how could he possibly break the gods and Buddhas within his heart?

Breaking the gods and Buddhas within the heart requires arduous cultivation, a profound enlightenment. Otherwise, the Buddha in the heart remains the Buddha, and the demon remains the demon.

"No matter what, he has not obtained the true profound learning of my Great Thunder Sound Temple. Even if his heart realm is high, he will not be Mingxin's opponent."

The old monk's gaze settled, his eyes on his nose, his nose on his heart. He seemed to have entered a state of meditation, the outcome of the platform match entirely disregarded.

On the arena, Mingxin’s tall and slender form began to radiate a faint golden light. This young monk actually gave off the aura of a venerable Buddha, sacred, solemn, and vast, imposing an immense pressure on the minds of all who beheld him!

Below the arena, men, women, old, and young from various villages had gathered, all drawn by the spectacle. Initially, their voices had been a cacophony, but at this moment, as the golden light emanated from Mingxin's body, all sounds abruptly ceased. A silence as absolute as a winter cicada's hush fell upon the crowd.

They closed their mouths almost simultaneously, as if struck by a sudden, forceful blow!

This was the heart method of the Buddhist gate, the Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra.

This heart method's path of cultivation differed from that of other sects. It progressed from outside to inside: the outside being the body, the body as the Tathagata; the inside being the heart, the heart as the Tathagata. The Buddhist gate referred to this as Body-as, Heart-as.

Though Mingxin had only cultivated to the superficial layer of Body-as, the mere manifestation of his Buddha appearance could deliver a stunning blow to the senses!

Granny Si and the others involuntarily tensed up once more. Mingxin had yet to make a move, but this mere momentum could already dismount Qin Mu, dispelling his fighting spirit.

Who would dare to move against a Buddha?

But Qin Mu dared!

Qin Mu’s body and heart unified, his heart and intent combined, his intent and fist fused, his fist and qi integrated, and his qi and body joined. Simultaneously, his spirit embryo and his body moved as one, body and spirit combined, unleashing the Nine Dragons Controlling Wind and Thunder!

His footwork, Cripple's Steal Heaven God Leg, was incredibly fast. Before Mingxin could even blink, Qin Mu had already arrived before him. Before Mingxin could raise a hand, Qin Mu’s mighty fist slammed into his chest.

The Nine Dragons Controlling Wind and Thunder, this move, contained a total of nine layers of strength within a single fist. The first layer of strength, like a fiery dragon, burst forth from Qin Mu’s fist-eye, striking Mingxin's heart. A loud clang resounded.

Mingxin’s surface golden light instantly brightened, and a faint golden bell shimmered into existence.

Qin Mu’s second layer of strength followed closely, the strength of twin dragons twisting. Two streams of dragon strength entangled each other, boring towards Mingxin’s heart!

Clang——

Another bell rang out. The two forces came too quickly, and the two bell sounds were almost simultaneous, deafening the ears!

Then, the Nine Dragons Controlling Wind and Thunder’s third layer of strength, the strength of three dragons shattering stone, arrived, followed by the fourth layer, four dragons pouncing, the fifth layer, five dragons refining demons, the sixth layer, six dragons wheeling back, and the seventh layer, seven dragons overturning the sea!

Seven consecutive layers of strength exploded, seven bell sounds ringing in rapid succession. The golden light bell on Mingxin’s body finally dimmed, forcing the tall and slender young monk back a step.

The eighth layer of strength, the power of eight parts of the heavenly dragon, exploded, and Mingxin retreated again. The golden light bell on his body recovered its luster. Qin Mu’s ninth layer of strength, nine dragons of wind and thunder, exploded, and the golden light bell on Mingxin’s body shattered with a crash.

Qin Mu was surprised. Even the demon ape could not withstand the complete nine layers of strength of the Nine Dragons Controlling Wind and Thunder. Every time Qin Mu fought with it, he stopped at six or seven layers of strength, lest he beat the demon ape to death or injure it. And this Mingxin actually did not dodge or evade, but endured the full nine layers of strength!

He had heard Granny Si’s words and held nothing back this time, using his full strength, even mobilizing the power of his spirit embryo god treasure. Yet, it merely forced Mingxin back a few steps.

“You did not obtain the true transmission of the Thunder Sound Eight Styles.”

Mingxin moved his foot, and vital energy exploded beneath his sole. His speed was incredibly fast. Lifting his palm, thunder burst forth, and a fist struck out, actually emitting a dragon’s roar.

Boom——

Before this fist even struck Qin Mu’s body, his vital energy transformed into a faint green dragon, though ethereal, it was ferocious and tyrannical beyond compare!

The first layer of strength of the Nine Dragons Controlling Wind and Thunder was actually manifested by his vital energy. The fact that he could manifest it showed that his vital energy was also extremely abundant. More importantly, he had a heart method that perfectly matched the Thunder Sound Eight Styles, and this was precisely the part that Qin Mu lacked!

Qin Mu received this strike head-on, feeling that the strength of this first layer was unusually powerful. However, before he could fully receive this strike, the second layer of strength of the Nine Dragons Controlling Wind and Thunder, the twin dragons twisting, arrived closely, two streams of dragon-shaped vital energy stirring against each other, twisting Qin Mu’s arms and bending them. Then the third layer of strength, the three dragons shattering stone, directly bombarded his arms!

Blood appeared on Qin Mu's arms. His footsteps faltered, and he retreated continuously, the arena floor scattering under his steps.

Four streams of dragon qi pounced. Qin Mu grunted, vital energy rushing into his eyes. The God Firmament Heavenly Eye immediately opened. In his hand, vital energy transformed into a long spear. Holding the spear, he thrust forward, passing between the four pouncing dragons. With a clang, he stabbed Mingxin’s palm. Before Mingxin’s five dragons refining demons strength could explode, it was dispersed by this single spear thrust.

The two kinds of strength collided, and the vital energy that had turned into a long spear in Qin Mu’s hand also collapsed and scattered.

Qin Mu raised his eyebrows, looking at Mingxin’s palm. A drop of blood flowed down his fingertip. His palm had been pierced by that spear just now.

Of course, Qin Mu’s arms were a bloody mess, his injuries far more serious than his.

Qin Mu took a long, deep breath, his vital energy suddenly becoming fierce. His form moved, pouncing towards Mingxin.

Only Body, East Sea Carrying Spring Thunder!

This time he used not the momentum of water, but the momentum of fire, like a rolling river of fire descending from the sky, rushing into the sea, as if wanting to ignite the great ocean!

The young monk Mingxin remained unmoved, raising his hand to meet the attack, his eyes incomparably bright: “Without a heart method, all is illusory, merely superficial.”

He also displayed the Only Body, East Sea Carrying Spring Thunder. With a movement of his palm, thunder burst forth from its center. A single thunderclap, destroying and breaking the soul. As the thunder sounded, Qin Mu’s miserable, fiery momentum directly disintegrated!

However, just at this moment, firelight suddenly burned on Qin Mu’s hands. With his hands as knives, he chopped towards Mingxin like a mad demon!

Pig Slaughtering Knife Method, Sun Yao East Sea, Thousand Overlapping Waves!

This was an incomparably crazy move, a butcher’s knife method. Without madness, it was difficult to display its ultimate power. One must possess a kind of momentum like the great sun rising, the East Sea with a thousand waves overlapping, using unmatched knife momentum to chop and break all momentum, to chop and shatter all momentum!

Chop chop chop chop chop!

A thousand waves overlapping, a thousand knives overlapping! No chop would fail to kill, no chop would fail to shatter!

Mingxin’s face slightly changed. However, Qin Mu’s eyebrows furrowed. He saw the move Mingxin was about to display, the eighth style of the Thunder Sound Eight Styles, Thousand Hands Buddha!

This young monk was meeting his palm with his own, like a venerable Thousand Hands Buddha, blocking his mad knife!

Qin Mu's heart sank slightly. His hands were not true knives, but merely used as knives. Mingxin’s defense was extremely strong, making it very difficult to chop through his palm.

“Then just be faster! Faster, even faster! So fast that you cannot receive my knife! Night Battle Connecting City, Wind and Rain!”

Qin Mu moved like a mad demon, chopping down wildly. There was only one thought in his heart: fast, fast, fast, a fast knife to chop off the Buddha’s head!

“In this world, there is no pig that cannot be killed by the Pig Slaughtering Knife Method!” Qin Mu’s vital energy surged violently as he spoke viciously.

Clang clang clang clang clang!

Mingxin fiercely resisted with the Thousand Hands Buddha. Suddenly, he failed to block, and Qin Mu’s hand-knife chopped at his throat. The golden bell on his body let out a clang. Next, the second knife broke his Thousand Arms Buddha defense and also chopped at his throat, another clang.

The third knife, the fourth knife, the fifth knife, the sixth knife!

Qin Mu’s knives were faster than the last, striking the same position on Mingxin repeatedly: his throat!

“Senior brother, in the past, you and I learned together under the same master, we were very familiar with each other. Your Thousand Hands Buddha has a flaw.”

Across from him, Ma Ye’s companion, the old monk, spoke faintly: “It seems you have also passed this flaw to your disciple.”