Tales of Herding Gods

Chapter 616: Initial Show of Strength

Chapter 616: Initial Show of Strength

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The devil ape was thrown into the sky and his face was blank and helpless.

Qin Mu saw this and he couldn’t help feeling suspicious. ‘Looks like big fella still has yet to come to realization. He still doesn’t know he had already won and why he had won.’

He turned his head around to look at Old Ma and thought to himself. “Old Ma is known for being the honest man in the village, choosing big fella to compete and beat the Sons of Buddha of the twenty heavens this time is indeed an extremely intelligent idea. Was it really Old Ma’s idea or is big fella’s Dharma really profound. Why do I feel that people of the village are feeding Old Ma mean methods from the shadows?”

Old Ma had said that the idea of harassing the buddhas of the twenty heavens was from Mute. Only Mute would be so mean.

And the style of annoying people to death and not paying with one’s life by sending the devil ape out was more like the idea of the frivolous Blind.

Blind’s divine mind’s eyes were skilled in finding loopholes. His spear skills didn’t have many transformations or could even be said to have no moves at all, yet he was always able to strike the weak points of his opponents. The reason was because he could see through the truths and lies of all the moves.

The devil ape was an ape with few words and he always spat out word by word, deeply achieving the essence of debating by not debating.

If it was a true debate, the monks of Great Thunderclap Monastery probably wouldn’t be able to defeat the Sons of Buddha, thus debating by not debating had become the crux in achieving victory.

And the devil ape was such a person.

‘However, big fella also have a deep root of wisdom, he has astonishing attainments in the cultivation of Dharma.”

Qin Mu saw the devil ape and his heart was full of admiration. ‘He doesn’t know he had won and he doesn’t know why he had won. Even though he was fighting, his heart is completely clear and he knows not of victory and defeat, this is then the Son of Buddha Zhan Kong. No wonder all the buddhas of the twenty heavens has changed how they addressed him, calling his little junior brother. Come to think of it, since Grandpa Blind and Grandpa Mute had both help out Grandpa Ma, where have they gone to now?”

Granny Si and the black tiger god who had returned from Luofu Heaven had also vanished without a trace. This had puzzled him greatly.

“Eat, strong!”

Qin Mu stayed to eat a vegetarian meal and the devil ape kept encouraging him to eat more. He would clench his fists from time to time to flex his arm, showing Qin Mu how his body could become strong by eating a lot.

The vegetarian meal of Great Thunderclap Monastery was mostly vegetables, tofu, and buns. In front of the devil ape was a huge iron bowl that was four to five times larger than a usual big pot. In it were all the pine needles and pine cones that he loved to eat.

Qin Mu ate some vegetarian buns and stopped when he was full.

Old Ma had wore his cassock back on and returned to his identity as Rulai Ma. He said to the monks, “The buddhas has permitted three places to head to the Buddha Realm to seek knowledge. Among the three places, Zhan Kong takes up one place, Ming Xin takes up one place and I’m hesitant about the last place.”

Monk Jing Ming said with a smile, “Why is Rulai hesitating?”

Rulai Ma said, “Senior brother, Zhan Kong has the root of wisdom, Ming Xin is worldly-wise, it’s extremely good to send both of them to learn. However, learning Dharma doesn’t test the root of wisdom, it tests the comprehension. We need to comprehend Dharma and transform them divine art, turning it into our battle power. Only then can we subdue demons and devils in the future and deal with future calamities. Having the buddha nature doesn’t mean their battle power could surpass the peers, this is what I’m worried about. Zhan Kong and Ming Xin both have buddha nature but they are both lacking slightly in comprehension.”

An elderly monk said, “In that case, why don’t Rulai go over personally?”

Rulai Ma shook his head and said, “I’m already buddha, I can’t cross this world barrier and reach the Buddha Realm, therefore I can only find a person with extraordinary comprehension from the younger generation to go in my place. He shall comprehend supreme and marvelous techniques and passed them down to us. This person has troubled me.”

The monks of Great Thunderclap Monastery also frowned. Even though Rulai Ma said that the devil ape and Ming Xin’s comprehension weren’t good enough, Rulai Ma’s requirement was simply too high. The devil ape and Ming Xin’s aptitude and comprehension were already the best among the younger generation in Great Thunderclap Monastery.

To find a young monk that surpassed them in Great Thunderclap Monastery was absolutely impossible!

Rulai Ma looked at Qin Mu who was currently eating. The devil ape grabbed a bunch of pine needles and pushed them to Qin Mu’s face, inviting him to eat.

The other monks also looked over and saw Qin Mu taking the pine needles over, kneading them into a biscuit before eating it with the bun.

“How?” Rulai Ma asked the monks.

All of the monks said in unison, “Excellent choice. Rulai’s judgment is unrivaled.”

“You want me to head to the Buddha Realm?”

After Qin Mu had finished eating, he was summoned over by Rulai Ma. When he heard his words, his eyes couldn’t help widening and he cried out, “I’, Heavenly Devil Cult Master and I even had a grudge with Great Thunderclap Monastery, won’t I be beaten to death by the buddhas if I am to go to the Buddha Realm to seek knowledge?”

Rulai Ma said with a smile, “The Buddha Realm and the buddhas have no grudge with you or with Heavenly Saint Cult. The buddhas have cultivated to buddhas before Founding Emperor Era was vanquished and they had constructed Buddha Realm. Meanwhile, the grudge between Great Thunderclap Monastery and Heavenly Saint Cult had happened after Founding Emperor Era was vanquished. The buddhas are understanding people, they won’t create trouble for you.”

Qin Mu was still slightly hesitant. “This is a chance that was fought for by the monks of Great Thunderclap Monastery, if an outsider like me is to go there to seek knowledge, won’t it be breaking the hopes of the monks?”

Rulai Ma shook his head, “There’s only hope if we let you go. Going to Buddha Realm to seek knowledge is to learn the supreme Dharma of Great Thunderclap Monastery, buddhist technique that reaches straight to Emperor’s Throne. I’m afraid that Zhan Kong and Ming Xin can’t comprehend the essence so it’s more suitable for you to go.”

Qin Mu no longer gave excuses and he said, “When I go to Buddha Realm, what should I take note of?”

“The local conditions and customs, do as the natives do. You should be very clear yourself, you don’t need me to elaborate.”

Rulai Ma said meaningfully, “The Buddha Realm didn’t help Great Thunderclap Monastery wasn’t because they weren’t willing to, it’s because they couldn’t. Therefore, you have to be careful of an open attack or a stab in the back.”

Qin Mu was astonished and he instantly understood what he was trying to say!

Other than fearing that so-called celestial heavens, the reason why the Buddha Realm was so careful must be because the celestial heavens had planted countless eyes and powers in the Buddha Realm!

When going to the Buddha Realm to seek knowledge, these eyes and powers would definitely lay their hands on these monks that had come from the lower bound!

One could well-imagined the reign of terror within.

This was probably the reason why Rulai Ma needed him to go no matter what!

Even though Devil Ape Zhan Kong has deep root of wisdom, his experience still wasn’t enough. Little Monk Ming Xin has enough experience but when he entered the world of mortals, he had only joined the military and train inside. In terms of sinister tricks and situational based reactions, he was much inferior to Qin Mu.

Qin Mu had experienced even more dangers and even faced off with devil gods like Fu Riluo. He could be said to be outstanding among the younger generation for his ability to adapt to any situation.

Other than to comprehend the supreme Dharma, the other motive of Rulai Ma wanting him to go forth was to protect the safety of the devil ape and Ming Xin.

“Do I need to shave my head?” Qin Mu asked.

Rulai Ma said with a smile, “Have you seen me shave my head?”

Qin Mu looked at his head and he saw that his hair had all turned into mounds of flesh. These were the beads of wisdom refined from his three thousand strands of worry.

Rulai Ma said, “Some people treat their worries as their own obstructions to restrict their own cultivation, therefore they have to shave their head that’s full of hair. However, a buddha refines his worry into his wisdom. The more worries a buddha had before enlightenment, the more wisdom they have after becoming buddha. If Rulai doesn’t need to shave, why do you?”

Qin Mu revealed a smile. “I’ve learned.”

The heavens shone brightly hung high above Li City.

These heavens looked illusory but looked at them in detail, they looked extremely deep, having space that was immeasurably wide. In the twenty heavens, huge buddhas appeared and buddha voices surrounded them. One of the buddhas shone down from the twenty heavens and a ray of buddha light shone down from the twenty heavens. The other buddhas also pointed towards this monastery in Li City and the buddha rays gathered to flow into a pillar of light.

Old Rulai led the monks to the front of the pillar of buddha rays and he nodded his head to the Qin Mu and the rest. “Be careful of your journey.”

Qin Mu nodded his head and he stepped into the pillar of light with the devil ape and Ming Xin. That huge pillar of buddha ray gradually rose and soon entered the twenty heavens. Qin Mu and the rest stepped on the base of the light pillar. They were then brought up into the twenty heavens of the Buddha Realm.

Qin Mu, Ming Xin and the devil ape stepped on solid ground and he raised his head to take a look. He saw a huge cluster of monasteries, as well as, pagodas, buddhas, and countless monks.

Under their feet was a gorgeous mountain and looking down, everywhere was buddhist countries that were covered with gold and jade in glorious splendor.

Just one heaven had just wide territory that was comparable to Eternal Peace. The buddhist countries stood great in numbers and they were all living together in harmony.

Some monks walked forward to welcome and he bowed, “Three senior brothers from the lower bound, Amitabha Monastery is right in front, please!”

Qin and the rest returned the greeting and he said, “May I trouble senior brothers to lead the way.”

That monk led the way in front and he said with a smile, “Senior Brother Zhan Kong’s attainments in Dharma is truly profound. I had also listen all the way and I was in admiration. These two little senior brothers are?”

Ming Xin gave his name in religion and he said, “This is Layperson Qin of Great Thunderclap Monastery.”

The gaze of that monk fell on Qin Mu’s body and he said, “Layperson Qin? No wonder you cultivate without shaving your head.”

Qin Mu gave a smile and he asked, “May I ask which great buddha is the one that had constructed this Amitabha Monastery?”

That monk said with smile, “Layperson Qin might not know but Amitabha Monastery is constructed by Dharma King Mo Lun, he’s a buddha of the celestial heavens who had attained the path, he has countless disciples and his Dharma is profound. After numerous senior brothers had a taste of Senior Brother Zhan Kong’s attainments in Dharma and they still want to experience Senior Brother Zhan Kong’s attainments in divine arts.”

Qin Mu’s heart sank and this Amitabha Monastery was probably part of the celestial heaven’s power. They were the power that was planted in the Buddha Realm by the celestial heavens!

“Old Ma has given me quite a good errand.”

His head couldn’t help aching. Just as they came to the Buddha Realm, the power of the celestial heavens wanted to show them their power and their intention was definitely not kind!

Monk Ming Xin said, “This senior brother, we are here to seek knowledge and not to compete with our divine arts. After we learn the supreme Dharma, we will return to the lower bound, we don’t want to offend the senior brothers.”

They came to the mountain gate of Amitabha Monastery and that monk said with a smile, “Only by competing our cultivation can we know our good and bad, what’s there to be offended about? Just go in!” After saying so, he gave a push on their backs and pushed them into the monastery before closing the gate.

Qin Mu, Ming Xin, and the devil ape looked forward and they saw a mountain path in front of them. On both sides of the mountain path, there would be a pair of monks every ten steps. They stood across each other and held a monk staff in their hands with solemn faces.

On the peak of Amitabha Monastery, a young monk wearing a yellow robe shouted. “Pay your respects to Buddha, kneel your way up the mountain!”

The devil ape and Ming Xin frowned slightly. Ming Xin asked with a low voice, “Cult Master Qin, what do we do? Are we really going to kneel and kowtow our way up? Our path of retreat is being blocked.”

At the mountain gate, numerous monks were trying to create trouble in broad daylight as they blocked the way there.

“No worries.”

Qin Mu said with a smile, “You guys don’t need to make a move, just walk up the mountain.”

The devil ape and Ming Xin walked up the mountain and that young monk narrowed his eyes as he shouted, “Fight!”

On both sides of the mountain, the monks swung the monk staffs to smash down on the three of them.

Qin Mu’s sword pellet suddenly flew out and transformed into a huge ball that was ten yards in radius. It shone bright and the sword light swirled around the robe of the monk who wielded the monk staff. That monk stood there naked and didn’t know what to do.

“Senior brothers of Amitabha Monastery!”

Qin Mu flicked his fingers and the sword ball whooshed up the mountain. Everywhere it passed by, the monks on both sides of the mountain were stripped in an instant. The monks immediately threw their monk staff aside to cover their lower body.

Qin Mu asked loudly, “Have you seen such a big sarira before?”