Tales of Herding Gods

Chapter 249: Pink Skeleton

Translator: Ninetales Editor: DarkGem

Silence filled the golden peak, so only the noise of the prayer beads revolving could be heard. Many buddha rays behind the monks’ heads had dispersed when they had fallen from the sky.

Old Rulai looked around himself and saw the expressions of all the bodhisattvas, venerables, and arhats. Cult Master Li had used the beauty of Si Youyou to appear in front of all the monks, messing up their wisdom and damaging their buddha’s heart, spawning impure thoughts.

Even Rulai had executed his dharma just then and activated the corporeal bodies of numerous Rulai in Thousand Buddhas Pagoda, he could only suppress the monks for a moment.

When the buddha rays behind their heads dispersed and they fell from the sky, it signaled that their buddha’s heart had been destroyed. Buddhism paid attention to the religious practice of the heart. Once their buddha’s heart was destroyed and their fruit of karma was tainted, their state of mind would crumble. The ones dropping down were no longer monks but were now ordinary people.

When they dropped from the sky, they would drop from the place high above the mortal world into the mortal world. Some of them would change their minds, repent, and be saved, but some would just leave Great Thunderclap Monastery and enter the mortal world to struggle and break free. However, with a secular heart, it would be hard for them to do so.

Si Youyou’s beauty had made many of the higher-ups of Great Thunderclap Monastery fall, which was a great loss.

However, the monastery couldn’t blame Qin Mu and the rest. After all, they had already warned them and it was Old Rulai who insisted on wanting to see the true appearance of Granny Si to test everyone’s buddha’s heart.

There were, of course, some buddha’s hearts that were stable and unmoved. These eminent monks were of different races, so even though Granny Si was beautiful, they couldn’t see it. Since they weren’t human, they only saw her as mortal flesh.

“Your cultivation is not strong enough, to be so attached to the appearance of the skin and not see the tathata.” Old Rulai looked around himself and guided the monks, “You saw her beauty and felt unable to restrain yourself, yet you don’t know that the beauty you see is what you feel is beautiful and not true beauty. For example, Senior Brother Hai Kong, do you think she’s beautiful?”

The person he mentioned was an eminent monk of a different race that had achieved Dao. He said, “She and I are of different races and I can’t see her beauty.”

Old Rulai smiled. “When a different race can’t see the beauty, then it isn’t true beauty, just skin. Beauty is in great truth, great thinking, and great wisdom. Cult Master Li, this skin that you’re infatuated with isn’t true beauty to every living being, it only lies in the human word. This clearly shows how narrow-minded you are.”

All the monks seemed to be enlightened, and Qin Mu also felt that his words were very logical. As expected of Old Rulai, a person who had demonstrated great thinking. He might just be able to subdue Li Tianxing, this heart devil.

Why Li Tianxing wanted to become Granny Si was because Granny Si was extremely beautiful and messed up his Dao heart. This brought out his evil intentions and made him want to become Granny Si.

The old woman chuckled. “Old Rulai, there are ten thousand paths in this world, but all my Heavenly Saint Cult occupies is the human word. Your buddhism speaks of ten thousand paths, but can you take possession of all of them? Say no more, what ability do you have to subdue me?”

Old Rulai smiled and took out a bronze mirror which passed to a venerable beside him. “Pass it to him.”

The venerable took the mirror and walked down the high platform to come to Granny Si. When he saw her appearance, his heart throbbed violently, and he immediately shut his eyes so he couldn’t see.

Granny Si took the mirror into her hands and looked fondly at her reflection while giggling. “Truly, a remarkably beautiful woman, I still pity her.”

Most of the monks saw her seductive appearance and found it hard to restrain themselves.

Old Rulai smiled. “Flip over the mirror.”

Granny Si did as told and saw a white skeleton there; it was her appearance after she died.

“What does Cult Master Li think?” Old Rulai smiled. “Even if you’re a remarkably beautiful woman, you’ll be merely bones after your life ends. Do you think a skeleton is pretty?”

Granny Si threw the bronze mirror onto the floor and crushed it under her feet while saying nonchalantly, “This is merely a trick to fool the ordinary people, saying things like pink skeletons or whatever. Rulai, I know logic, but I don’t want to be like you, living in splendor in your afterlife, it’s enough if I live my current life to its fullest extent. Seeking for the afterlife is merely a cowardly behavior. Your little trick won’t be able to subdue me. If you think a mirror is able to enlighten me, why don’t I take a stroll around your Great Thunderclap Monastery to see if you will enlighten me first or if I’ll enlighten all the young and old monks in your sect. Why don’t you make a bet with me?”

Old Rulai frowned slightly and said, “You have no wisdom.”

Blind also saw that things were turning bad and said, “Dao brother, what wisdom, it’s all nonsense, why don’t we make a move on him directly and subdue him!

Old Rulai muttered to himself for a moment, then said, “Cult Master Li is the devil cult master, so I shall bring him into Thousand Buddhas Pagoda to subdue him. Monks, your determination is still shallow and your cultivations aren’t there yet, all of you shall remain outside Thousand Buddhas Pagoda to aid.”

All of the monks acknowledged this and walked down the high platform to gather around Thousand Buddhas Pagoda. There were some monks that hurried out from inside, not daring to remain there.

Old Rulai smiled. “Cult Master Qin, you’re also the devil cult master and have a deep devil nature. Since the ancient times, buddhas and devils were always on separate sides, but since cult master is a guest who had come forth to seek help, I won’t subdue you. However, during the time I’ll be subduing Cult Master Li, I hope cult master will stay in Great Thunderclap Monastery to listen to the dharma and resolve the evil tendencies in cult master’s heart so you can make fewer sins in the future.”

Old Ma and Blind’s hearts were like a clear mirror—Old Rulai was trying to make them stay in Great Thunderclap Monastery. If he could enlighten them, it would naturally be the best, but if he couldn’t, he just wouldn’t let them leave.

Qin Mu was elated and smiled. “Senior brother is wise! In that case, we’ll have to trouble you. I hope senior brother can subdue Cult Master Li, this devil, as soon as possible. It’ll be a huge merit!”

Old Rulai smiled and instructed, “Let these few benefactors stay in the monastery.”

A venerable hesitated. “Revered One of the World, there are many places in the monastery that are the sacred grounds of our sect. If they barge into…”

“Let them be, there’s nothing Great Thunderclap Monastery has to hide,” said Old Rulai. “Imperial Preceptor came forward and I showed him Rulai’s Mahayana Sutra, so could the evil Heavenly Devil Cult Master be worse than Imperial Preceptor? Cult Master Qin is also one of all living things; there are no outsiders in Great Thunderclap Monastery.”

That venerable acknowledged this and came over to lead everyone.

Qin Mu smiled. “This senior brother, does the monastery have vegetarian food? I’ve been eating too much greasy stuff during New Years and would like to eat something light.”

The venerable took a look at him and revolved his prayer beads, suppressing the thoughts to subdue the devil. “If cult master stays in Great Thunderclap Monastery, we can provide you with a lifetime of vegetarians food.”

Qin Mu laughed out loud and said to Blind, “They aren’t afraid of us eating them poor.”

Blind snorted coldly and asked, “Old Ma, do you think Rulai can subdue Li Tianxing?”

Old Ma hesitated. “If one Rulai isn’t enough, there are a thousand of them in Thousand Buddhas Pagoda. They are all clear-natured existences that had seen the tathata, so it’s highly possible. However, they have all passed on and Cult Master Li is extremely extraordinary… What I’m afraid now is that Old Rulai will purposely not subdue Cult Master Li, but will trap Granny Si in the pagoda. If she gets trapped there, we’ll also be trapped here.”

The venerable brought them to the guest rooms and said, “Benefactors, feel free to stay here. The bookshelves have all the buddhist scriptures, so feel free to browse through them.”

Qin Mu looked over and saw many scriptures as promised. Old Ma shook his head at him. “The buddhist scriptures here only have text and no divine arts, just browse through them.”

The venerable said, “Divine arts are no match for karma. Does Ma Wangshen not know?”

Old Ma said indifferently, “Without divine arts, how can one ward off karma? You’re Rulai’s disciple? This means you’re my junior brother. Your realm is too low, fall back, don’t try to act clever in front of me.”

The venerable was ashamed and embarrassed, so he turned to leave.

Blind sat down calmly. “I and Old Ma are already old, so it’s fine if we stay here. But Mu’er, you’re the cult master of Heavenly Devil Cult. If you get trapped here forever, won’t you die of old age in this place? I’ll find a chance to send you down the mountain.”

Qin Mu shook his head and said, “We will wait until Granny Si is well. Grandpa Blind, Grandpa Ma, since it’s rare to come to Great Thunderclap Monastery, let us take a walk around.”

Old Ma revealed a smile. “Didn’t you want to see the Hundred Dragons Portraits for a long time? I shall bring you to the place where the reliefs are.”

Qin Mu was elated.

The three of them walked out of the guest room to see an old monk sitting outside the door and reciting scriptures to the dragon qilin. The fat monster had already fallen deep asleep and was snoring loudly.

“They even want to enlighten Fatty Dragon?” Qin Mu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Monk, this fatass needs to eat half a bucket of Scarlet Fire Spirit Pills every day, can you feed him after you enlighten him?”

That old monk stopped his recital and gave him a glance. “I can.”

Qin Mu was speechless. “How rich. Continue.”

Old Ma then led the way, down a layer of clouds until they reached the middle of the mountain. Pointing forward, he said, “That’s the Hundred Dragons Portraits.”

Qin Mu looked over and saw numerous huge pillars. On each one, there was a relief of a heavenly dragon. Under the pillars, there were hundreds of monks that were observing the sculptures to comprehend their own path, skills, and divine arts from them.

There was quite a number of monks that were trying out their divine arts, transforming their vital qi into forms of dragons that filled the sky. There were also buddha rays shining brilliantly, which looked very extraordinary.

Some monks were even exchanging blows, testing what they had just comprehended.

A few old monks saw them coming over and immediately greeted Old Ma. “Senior brother is here.”

Old Ma returned their greetings, not neglecting them.

An old monk said with delight, “Back then senior brother was in the limelight, and us here still remember senior brother’s dashing appearance at that time.”

Qin Mu walked up in front of a dragon pillar to examine it in detail, exclaiming endlessly in admiration to himself. There were a hundred forms of this heavenly dragon, and the stone carvings on this pillar had fully captured the posture of the majestic being.

Old Ma was proficient in carving and the sculptures he did with wood were vivid, so he should have imitated the carvings here before.

Hundred Dragons Portraits were indeed crucial to cultivating Thunderclap Eight Strikes, but what was even more important was still Rulai’s Mahayana Sutra. Without it, it was hard to cultivate Thunderclap Eight Strikes to its maximum.

However, Qin Mu had already comprehended Unity Technique and his attainments in Thunderclap Eight Strikes weren’t any weaker than if he had been cultivating Rulai’s Mahayana Sutra.

At this moment, he suddenly heard a voice aimed at him. “The one that herds cows!”

Qin Mu turned his head back and saw a monk in white looking at him in astonishment. This monk looked slightly familiar, and Qin Mu suddenly realized who he was. “So it’s Little Monk Ming Xin! We’ve met before in Great Ruins’ Grandma Temple!”

The little monk was a student of Old Monk Jing Ming who had brought him to find Old Ma and used the khakkhara staff as a bet. Ming Xin was defeated by Qin Mu and thus the khakkhara staff had landed into Qin Mu’s hands, though he then gave it away to the devil ape.

Monk Ming Xin walked over with quick steps. He had grown quite a bit and was now slightly taller than Qin Mu.

Puberty had only started for Qin Mu in the last half a year, so he’d had a spurt in growth, but it wasn’t enough yet.

Monk Ming Xin took a look at him and was eager to give a second try at a battle with him. “We haven’t met for a few years and I wonder if your skills improved?”

Qin Mu sighed ruefully. “They have. Since I defeated you, times changed and I improved by leaps and bounds.”

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