Chapter 334 - 325: Should I Become the Demon Buddha, I Will Personally Lead You to the Tathagata

Chapter 334: Chapter 325: Should I Become the Demon Buddha, I Will Personally Lead You to the Tathagata

Fu Juemin placed one hand lightly on the wall of the Ancient Bell, his calm gaze fixed on the crown of Huai Hai’s head. He had already made up his mind; if the monk uttered so much as half a sentence more of nonsense, he would strike the bell again.

Huai Hai, however, seemed to turn a blind eye to this blatant threat and intimidation, simply speaking in a calm voice, "If you see me by form, or seek me by sound, you walk a deviant path and cannot see the Tathagata."

"Even if you kill me, you cannot change the established reality."

"Amitabha. So it is, so it is."

Fu Juemin listened, then suddenly lowered his hand.

He realized that, given Huai Hai’s stubborn personality, even if he beat him half to death right here and now, the old monk still wouldn’t breathe a single word about the secret manual.

Just then, the faint rustle of footsteps came from the distance.

Fu Juemin looked up to see the red-skirted girl named Panxiang and the Transformation Realm Martial Artist, Zhong Yin, slowly and cautiously approaching. The girl watched him, her eyes filled with a mix of assessment and curiosity.

Fu Juemin couldn’t be bothered to deal with them. After a moment’s contemplation, he spoke, "Master, since you’re unwilling for me to use force, it seems you’d rather debate the scriptures with me?"

Huai Hai shook his head. "Not to debate, but to attest. To deliver. It is repayment for the awakening you previously helped me achieve."

"Pure sophistry."

Fu Juemin shook his head. "I may have never met Huai Kong, but I know this much: when it comes to Buddhist Teachings, your understanding is a far cry from Master Huai Kong’s."

Huai Hai said nothing, but a ripple of emotion disturbed the calm in his eyes.

Since a debate was on the table, Fu Juemin decided he might as well engage him in one.

"Master, in your opinion, what is a demon?"

Fu Juemin began.

Huai Hai recited a customary chant, then said, "The Buddhist Scriptures state that those who kill, those who obstruct, and those who take life are demons."

"Wrong, all wrong."

Fu Juemin shook his head. "In my opinion, those are merely the outward signs of a demon."

"The true demon is affliction, it is obsession..."

Fu Juemin gestured toward Huai Hai’s heart and said bluntly, "Let’s use you as an example, Master. In your youth, you witnessed the destruction of Celestial Blessing Temple."

"You were hiding behind the wall of a meditation cell, peering through a crack in the window as you watched the temple grounds collapse, your fellow monks die brutal deaths, and the sacred scriptures burn to ash..."

"You will never forget those scenes. They are buried deep in your heart, and no amount of chanting can ever wash them away."

"It became your obsession. Afflictions festered, and it naturally became the Heart Demon within you."

"There is truth in what you say."

"I am indeed hopelessly obsessed. I have bitterly cultivated peerless skills, hoping to avenge the destruction of my temple, yet I’ve found no trace of the perpetrators in this vast world."

"Even if I did find them, I fear I might be wrong, that I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to act. I’m torn by indecision, unable to break free..."

Huai Hai sighed, his expression complex. He turned his gaze back to Fu Juemin and said, "Then since you don’t consider yourself a demon, does that mean you believe you are completely free of afflictions and obsessions?"

"Of course not."

Fu Juemin smiled faintly. "For example, a lotus does not grow on high, dry land. It is in the low, damp mire that this flower is born."

"Likewise, one who realizes the unconditioned Dharma and enters the correct state can no longer give rise to Buddhist Teachings; it is in the mud of afflictions that living beings can give rise to them."

"Afflictions and obsessions are like mire to me. I have endless afflictions and countless obsessions, yet I remain untainted by their filth, holding fast to a heart of Buddha."

Fu Juemin paused, then sighed leisurely. "Master, do you not know? Affliction itself is Bodhi."

Huai Hai’s long eyebrows furrowed slightly as he began to ponder, searching for a rebuttal.

Fu Juemin had originally only planned to argue with Huai Hai for a bit, hoping to coax him into obediently handing over the secret manual.

But after debating for a while, he found a Spirit stirring in his mind, his consciousness growing clear and bright. He felt a faint sense of progress toward perceiving his true heart.

A sudden realization struck him. As the old saying goes, "Truth is clarified through debate."

’This war of words with Huai Hai, wasn’t it a perfect match for the "enlightened understanding of one’s true heart" required to break through in Gratitude Heart Sensing and Heart Intent?’

He might as well completely abandon the thought of using force and start enjoying the process of this verbal cannonade.

He, too, began to feel the pleasure of "debating the scriptures."

It wasn’t that his own understanding of the Buddhist Teachings was particularly deep, nor was his eloquence especially great. The crucial point was—Huai Hai was also just a dabbler!

The old monk’s mind was consumed with revenge. He had spent his entire life painstakingly practicing Martial Arts, achieving Heart Intent Mastery, and now stood before the Heart Demon Barrier, just a single step away from becoming a Martial Arts Grandmaster.

He was formidable when it came to Martial Arts, but as for Buddhist Teachings... he was truly lacking.

The two were six of one and half a dozen of the other. Huai Hai wracked his brain, trying to recall the few Buddhist Teachings he knew in an attempt to make Fu Juemin realize that he had "Fallen into Demon."

Fu Juemin, on the other hand, simply pulled arguments from thin air, so long as they refuted whatever Huai Hai said.

And so this scripture debate, much like two novices pecking at each other, continued for three whole days.

The sun rose and set. If not for the fact that both possessed Extraordinary martial prowess, one of them would likely have been worn down to death on the spot.

「Three days later.」

"Hey!"

As Huai Hai was lost in thought and Fu Juemin was bored out of his mind, someone beside them casually pushed a mahogany food box their way.

Fu Juemin turned to see the girl named "Panxiang" avoiding his gaze. She put on an air of nonchalance, pointed at the food box, and said, "I had them bring too much... ahem, you want some?"

Fu Juemin looked down and saw the box was filled with several pastries. They were exquisitely shaped and sprinkled with embellishments like powdered sugar and candied fruit, looking quite delectable.

"Thanks."

Fu Juemin gave the girl a slight smile, casually picked up a pastry, and popped it in his mouth. Then he added, "Is there any water? Go get me some."

"Are you ordering me around?!"

The girl’s delicate eyebrows shot up in anger, but as soon as she turned her head, she quickly commanded, "Zhong Yin, go brew a pot of tea. Use the tea leaves from the box on the top shelf."

Zhong Yin glanced at the girl, then shot a deep, meaningful look at Fu Juemin. With a complicated expression, he answered, "Yes," and hurried off.

Fu Juemin was, in fact, a bit hungry and thirsty.

He had been debating scriptures with Huai Hai for three days, and the red-skirted girl and her companion had been listening from the sidelines the entire time. During this period, she had gradually and deliberately shown goodwill toward Fu Juemin, and the tension between them began to ease.

Only Zhong Yin likely understood the reason for this—Commandery Princess Panxiang had grown up never being challenged. If someone was capable of "challenging" her, for better or worse, they were bound to leave a deep impression.

And this first man to "challenge" her just so happened to have exceptional looks and bearing, was not one of the Manchus, possessed unparalleled Martial Arts, and could go on debating a high-ranking old monk from the Buddhist Sect with words that, while inscrutable, felt incredibly profound.

After three days of debate, the man had clearly reached some new understanding in his state of mind. A light shone from his Celestial Spirit, his eyes were like colored glass, and his entire being radiated a unique aura.

With every lift of his hand and foot, he seemed capable of effortlessly stealing a woman’s soul. The Commandery Princess was at the perfect age for girlish crushes, so it was only natural for her to be drawn to him.

Fu Juemin ate three pastries in a row. When he picked up the fourth, he offered it to Huai Hai.

"Master, would you care for something to eat? How about we take an intermission?"

By this point, Fu Juemin’s impression of Huai Hai had changed completely. After three days of debate, much of the fog in his mind had been swept away. While it wasn’t enough to form a Heart Scene, he was at least much closer to the Heart Intent Realm.

One could say that Huai Hai, with his half-lifetime of clumsy attainments in Buddhist Teachings, had served as Fu Juemin’s "mental sparring partner" for three solid days.

Naturally, Fu Juemin’s attitude toward him had improved considerably.

Facing Fu Juemin’s kind gesture, Huai Hai shook his head and slowly spoke, "In the Sixth Heaven of the Desire Realm, there is the Demon King Boshun."

"He is the king of myriad demons, the source of all evil... He constantly obstructs the path of the Buddha and disrupts spiritual practice."

"If you remain so stubbornly lost, this demon will surely exploit your weakness to possess you, making you his incarnation in the mortal world. You will commit evil deeds, plant evil causes... and ultimately reap a bitter fruit!"

Huai Hai’s tone was wistful. He probably knew his own understanding of Buddhist Teachings was insufficient to win against Fu Juemin’s sharp tongue, but he was unwilling to give up and wanted to make one last attempt to persuade him.

But unexpectedly, upon hearing these words, Fu Juemin rose to his full height.

"If that is truly so, then I shall simply follow the current."

"If the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven comes to reside within me, then I shall make my body a cage and trap Him here."

"If I do not enter hell, who will?"

At that moment, in Fu Juemin’s mind, the two Dharma Forms representing the Perfection of his Dragon Elephant Skill and Pharmacist Skill erupted in brilliant light.

Empowered by the Dharma Forms’ Buddha Light, his every word and deed now carried a Buddha’s Rhyme. Even if he were to speak utter nonsense, it would sound to others like it contained the supreme, wondrous meaning of the Buddhist Sect.

He looked down on Huai Hai from on high, smiled faintly, and said in a low voice, "Master, will you not quickly offer up the Bright King Skill and the Bodhi Decision to help me subjugate this Demon King of the Sixth Heaven?"

"In the future, should I become a Demon Buddha, I can personally lead you to meet the Tathagata!!"

As these words left his lips, the light of Fu Juemin’s spiritual platform blazed.

His entire being seemed to be bathed in a sudden, boundless effulgence.

RUMBLE!

Within his mind, his Consciousness underwent a drastic change. The inky black mass in its depths finally began to coalesce into a clear, distinct, and tangible Dharma Form.

Invisible ripples and an infinite, glorious light radiated outward. At the side, the girl Panxiang was simply stunned.

Her beautiful eyes were fixed on Fu Juemin in a daze, and for a moment, her mind went blank.

Huai Hai, too, stared blankly up at Fu Juemin.

A moment later, a light swirled in the depths of his eyes, as if he had finally understood something.

He lowered his head, pressed his palms together, and chanted softly, "Amitabha. So it is, so it is."

"In that case..."

"It shall be as the Lotus Walker wishes!"