Before them, a colossal dragon coiled itself around the towering palace. It wound round and round, its massive head raised high above the great hall, gazing towards them!
This was a dragon skeleton, a gargantuan frame of bone devoid of flesh and blood. Its teeth alone were taller than Qin Mu himself! Though the giant dragon had long since perished, its extraordinary majesty was still evident. One could imagine the immense power it wielded in life.
Qin Mu opened his Divine Heaven's Eyes to behold it. Suddenly, the dragon skeleton before him seemed to come alive. Divine light surged towards the heavens, and in his sight, the colossal dragon appeared to be winding and swimming. Though the dragon was clearly dead, the sheer momentum and spirit it exuded made him feel as though it still lived!
"Surge River Dragon King, a true dragon…"
Qin Mu gazed at the immense dragon, his heart stirring slightly. He recalled Grandpa Ma's fist technique, the move "Nine Dragons Control Wind Thunder" from the Lei Yin Eight Styles. Nine Dragons Control Wind Thunder involved dividing vital energy into nine layers of force. The first layer was "Angry Dragon Impact," the second "Double Dragons Twist," and each subsequent layer's power surpassed the previous by one dragon's might!
Qin Mu had practiced this move countless times since childhood under Grandpa Ma's tutelage, but he had never truly grasped its essence. His recent cultivation breakthroughs had significantly enhanced the power of Nine Dragons Control Wind Thunder. However, when sparring with the young monk Ming Xin, he had still suffered a setback. While it was partly due to not possessing the Like Comes Grand Vehicle Sutra from the Great Lei Yin Temple, a larger reason was that his Nine Dragons Fist Force was merely dragon-like.
Dragon-like but not a true dragon; it possessed the form but lacked the substance, thus collapsing upon contact. If his fist force embodied the true dragon, even without the Like Comes Grand Vehicle Sutra, his Nine Dragons Control Wind Thunder would be a true transmission! This was because the core principle of Nine Dragons Control Wind Thunder's fist technique was precisely to emulate a true dragon controlling wind and thunder. It was the thunderous power of ten thousand *jun*, the divine dragon erupting from lightning to engage in combat. If one could achieve this, learning the Like Comes Grand Vehicle Sutra was inconsequential!
"Nine Dragons Control Wind Thunder, Nine Dragons Control Wind Thunder…"
Qin Mu observed the dragon skeleton intently, his footsteps moving unconsciously. His gaze was fixed solely on this true dragon bone. He observed the dragon's form, examined its bone structure, appreciated its momentum, pondered its charm, experienced its *qi*, and meticulously contemplated its spirit. He became increasingly lost in his contemplation, walking and observing, and even making strange movements unconsciously. His arms and body began to imitate the true dragon's every movement.
His vital energy, too, unconsciously mimicked a true dragon wandering within his body, enriching itself with more details with each cycle. Within his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, his spirit embryo surprisingly followed his movements, breathing vital energy in and out, gradually undergoing wondrous changes. The vital energy he exhaled did not re-enter Qin Mu's body but lingered upon it, transforming into a small dragon. As he continued to breathe and exhale vital energy, this small dragon gradually grew, slowly reaching over a *zhang* in height, coiling itself around his spirit embryo.
Fox Ling'er was initially trembling with fear, but as time passed, the fear in her heart gradually lessened. She was no longer so afraid, only that Qin Mu was so absorbed in studying the dragon skeleton that he had forgotten about her.
After a long while, Fox Ling'er's belly grumbled. She carefully and cautiously slid down from Qin Mu's back and tiptoed out of the underwater dragon palace. She wasn't worried about disturbing Qin Mu but harbored a natural fear of dragons, afraid that making too much noise would startle the dragon skeleton.
Half an hour later, the white fox returned from outside, carrying a bag filled with strange, dandelion-like creatures. Fox Ling'er suppressed her inner fear of the dragon skeleton and walked into the mist, reaching Qin Mu's side. She climbed onto his body again and settled on his shoulder, then stuffed one of the strange creatures into his mouth. Qin Mu seemed oblivious, opening his mouth when food arrived and dutifully swallowing it.
Fox Ling'er fed him over twenty of these strange creatures before she began to eat her own with relish. Qin Mu still showed no sign of waking, continuing his constant movements. His eyes were fixed on the dragon skeleton above, and at times, he even climbed onto the skeleton, wandering among the massive bones.
A green dragon coiled around his spirit embryo, crackling with electric light, but Qin Mu, still engrossed in observing the dragon skeleton, hadn't noticed. Unconsciously, two days passed in this manner. Qin Mu ate, drank, defecated, and slept here. His body was already quite smelly, yet there was no sign of him waking.
Fox Ling'er was incredibly patient. Throughout these days, she took care of his meals. When Qin Mu was thirsty, she would use leaves to collect water. When he was hungry, she would catch the strange creatures in the passage. The journey involved passing through the water pool, where strange fish lurked. One careless mistake and she could be eaten by them. Fortunately, she was clever and managed to avoid any mishaps. Of course, she would still avoid him when he relieved himself.
On the third day, just as Fox Ling'er was preparing to fetch some water, Qin Mu's voice suddenly broke the silence. He said, surprised, "Why is my body so dirty?"
Fox Ling'er, both surprised and delighted, chirped, "You've been standing here for three days. It's strange if you weren't dirty!"
"Three days?" Qin Mu was startled and exclaimed, "Oh no! If I don't return for three days, the villagers must be worried sick! Let's go, we must hurry back!"
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. "If we go back now, we'll surely be scolded, and they might even not let me out again. Since we've come this far, we might as well explore the dragon palace. Perhaps we can find some treasure."
Full of enthusiasm, he stepped into the underwater dragon palace. Fox Ling'er bravely followed him into the towering palace. However, being timid, she only dared to follow at Qin Mu's leg, not daring to move freely. The great hall was also shrouded in mist, even thicker here, vast and hazy, obscuring anything beyond a short distance.
"Strange, what is this mist made of?" Qin Mu was puzzled. This wasn't water mist; even his Divine Heaven's Eyes couldn't see far. The closer they walked towards the center of the hall, the denser the mist became, and the shorter the visible range. Fox Ling'er became even more frightened, biting down on Qin Mu's pant leg and being dragged along by him.
At this moment, he heard strange sounds, gentle and drawn out, yet filled with a sense of sorrow. It was like someone singing a mournful song in the mist, but he couldn't understand the words. This was an ancient language, mysterious and obscure, as ancient as divine or demonic tongues.
As Qin Mu listened, he raised a hand to touch his cheek, realizing he was unconsciously shedding tears. The song gave him the feeling of a sorrowful woman drifting in the mist, singing a heartbreaking tale.
Suddenly, the gold rings on the Boundless Clarity Zen Staff in his hand began to clang noisily. "Grandpa Ma said the gold rings on the Boundless Clarity Zen Staff have the effect of warding off distracting and evil thoughts. If your heart stirs with a thought, the rings will move. If you have a single distracting or evil thought, a ring will ring once. Now these rings are shaking like sifting copper beans, clanging incessantly. Do I really have so many distracting and evil thoughts?"
Qin Mu lowered his head to look and couldn't help but laugh wryly. Fox Ling'er was trembling like a sieve, clinging tightly to his leg, while her tail draped over the Boundless Clarity Zen Staff. Qin Mu's heart wasn't troubled at all, but the little fox's heart was in turmoil.
"Ling'er, move your tail away a bit," Qin Mu said. Fox Ling'er moved her tail to the side but continued to tremble.
Qin Mu frowned. After Fox Ling'er's tail moved away, the gold rings on the Boundless Clarity Zen Staff still shook continuously, clanging. "Could it be that besides me and Fox Ling'er, there's a third person here? A third person with an abundance of distracting and evil thoughts? Could it be that singing woman?"
The movement of the Boundless Clarity Zen Staff's gold rings became increasingly urgent. This clearly indicated a third person was present, and their distracting and evil thoughts were so numerous that the Boundless Clarity Zen Staff was sensing them and ringing non-stop! In the air, the gentle singing voice drifted around, becoming increasingly sorrowful.
Qin Mu lowered his head to look and suddenly shivered. He saw a bony hand reaching out from the mist towards the Boundless Clarity Zen Staff. Before it could touch the staff, it trembled uncontrollably, as if struck by lightning, and silently retreated. Qin Mu braced himself with the Boundless Clarity Zen Staff and looked around, his eye corner twitching involuntarily. In the surrounding mist, one after another skeletal hands were continuously probing towards him, only to recoil involuntarily upon encountering the Boundless Clarity Zen Staff. And the gentle singing voice in the mist gradually became clearer, as if singing right beside his ear.
"What exactly are these things in the mist?" His scalp tingled with fear. Fox Ling'er had already climbed from his pants up to his back and then burrowed into his clothes, only her fluffy little head exposed, secretly looking around and shivering. This scene was truly terrifying. Qin Mu couldn't help but feel a bit of fear in his heart, but the shaking gold rings had a calming effect, quickly settling his mind.
He composed himself. So many hands, clearly not belonging to the same person. "No matter what you are, retreat!" Qin Mu's vital energy surged, flowing from his arm into the Boundless Clarity Zen Staff. He lifted the staff and stamped it heavily. A clang echoed, and the Boundless Clarity Zen Staff suddenly burst forth with rays of light, shooting in all directions. At the same time, a Buddha shadow appeared behind him, sitting in the air, chanting great Sanskrit sounds.
"Thus I have heard!" The Buddha shadow's mouth chanted Sanskrit sounds, shaking the air: "All sentient beings, from beginningless time, continue in birth and death, all because they do not know the eternal true heart, the pure and bright body of nature, and use all deluded thoughts. This thought is not true, hence there is cycle— cycle— cycle— cycle—"
