Chapter 950 — A Beauty Pities the Flower-Soul

Heavenly Venerable Hao drew that thread of consciousness back, his face somewhat darkened, and all that the thread had gone through came flooding at once into his mind. Though Shen Mu had wiped away the memories held in that thread, his Immutability Art was, after all, far from mastery, and great flaws remained in it.

A little probing was enough for him to know how many arts of slaying Mu he had brought into play. "Was it the Great Brahma Heaven King Buddha's Scripture of Immeasurable Kalpas?

The Great Brahma Heaven King Buddha's cultivation method belongs among the mind-arts.

Though this White-Browed Monk has handed over the Scripture of Immeasurable Kalpas, those in the Heavenly Court who can master his mind-art can be counted on the fingers of one hand. " He could not help frowning. The Great Brahma Heaven King Buddha's Scripture of Immeasurable Kalpas was exceedingly hard to learn; in former days the White-Browed Monk had never passed it to any outsider, and only now, seeing the situation turn dire, had he of his own accord given it to the Heavenly Court.

Yet cultivating the Scripture of Immeasurable Kalpas demanded the highest attainment in the Buddhist way and a surpassing mastery of Buddha-dharma; without that, it could not be learned at all. Though the Great Brahma Heaven King Buddha had founded the Buddhist order, he was a junior to Heavenly Venerable Hao, and Heavenly Venerable Hao was naturally not one to spend care and effort delving into the Buddha-dharma. To begin from the very start, who knew how many years would be squandered before he could see through the thousands upon thousands of Buddhist scriptures and learn the Scripture of Immeasurable Kalpas.

Of course, the Great Brahma Heaven King Buddha had still kept something back. The Scripture of Immeasurable Kalpas belongs to the mind-arts within the mind-learning.

Such a method may be learned step by step, through study and comprehension of the sutras, advancing by degrees; with Buddha-nature and Zen mind high enough, one may learn it. Yet it may also be conferred directly in a dream, with no comprehension needed at all.

The two methods have their strengths and weaknesses. The first yields deeper insight and is true mastery; Zhankong Tathagata, the monk Chenghuai, and the Indra Heaven King Buddha belong to the first kind.

They possess Buddha-nature, and the realm of their Zen minds is deep and high.

Shen Mu belongs to the second: the old Buddha passed the way to him directly in a dream, the equivalent of an empowerment handed down in sleep, requiring no comprehension, so that he could wield it at once. But by such a method one only knows how to use it, never why it works, and there is little insight to be had. Shen Mu could not even say clearly how the mind-art of the Scripture of Immeasurable Kalpas was set in motion.

"Master, must we manufacture another Heavenly Venerable Mu? " A demigod stepped forward and bowed in inquiry.

Heavenly Venerable Hao shook his head.

"No need. Shen Mu is a small man, not worth much of my effort. My enemies are not him, but the ancient gods and the other Heavenly Venerables.

The situation is gradually becoming clear, friend and foe stand distinct; if I spend too much effort on Shen Mu, I will lose the great for the small.

" He smiled.

"Kunwu, choose eighteen outstanding disciples and send them to me. I will teach them the Eighteen Arts of Slaying Mu, and let them bide their chance to kill Shen Mu. " That demigod, Kunwu, assented and said, "From what realm should these disciples be chosen? " Heavenly Venerable Hao said, "Not too high.

True God will do. " Nor were there any disciples of higher cultivation in the Hao Heaven Palace; as soon as a disciple under him achieved some measure of cultivation, Heavenly Venerable Hao would send him out to take up important posts in the Heavenly Court and rule the various heavens.

Keeping disciples gathered at his side could never form a mighty power; only by sending them out to lead troops, to branch and scatter, could he be sure that his authority swayed court and realm alike.

Kunwu bowed and withdrew to select the eighteen disciples.

Before long Kunwu returned with eighteen disciples. He knew Heavenly Venerable Hao's students better than Heavenly Venerable Hao himself did, for though the Venerable's disciples filled the world, he seldom deigned to teach them himself, leaving them to his most favored disciples to manage, and the instruction of these students and followers was likewise carried out by those disciples; only now and then did the Venerable teach with his own hand.

Those who truly received the Venerable's own transmission were very few indeed. Even Yan Qiling, disciple of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, had not obtained the Emperor's true arts and secret lore; all she had received were those great Dao runes of the ancient gods that the Dao Ancestor had set in order, and a few great divine powers such as Dao One and Dao Two that the Heavenly Emperor had taught her, and nothing more.

Such was the case with the eighteen Kunwu brought as well.

Heavenly Venerable Hao looked them over and frowned slightly. "These disciples are a little weak; in dharma power they do not surpass Shen Mu by much. " Kunwu said hastily, "This disciple followed Master's instructions and transmitted the Emperor's Throne arts to them, letting them comprehend for themselves. Master taught us twenty-eight kinds of Emperor's Throne arts, and they have studied them all; how much each can grasp and comprehend depends on his own endowment and understanding.

" Something stirred in Heavenly Venerable Hao.

"Tell me, each of you, how many Emperor's Throne arts you have comprehended, and how many you have fused. " A woman came forward and bowed. "This disciple is Xiu Youfang.

I have comprehended three Emperor's Throne arts, the Four Phases Kalpa Art, the Biyou Great Azure Scripture, and the Yin-Yang Great Bliss Art, and fused them into one, barely ranking among the lesser Heavenly Court arts.

" Heavenly Venerable Hao nodded. "Fusing three Emperor's Throne arts may be called a lesser Heavenly Court art, but it is still not enough.

The rebel Shen Mu has likely fused as many as three himself. " Then another woman, clad in purple, stepped forward and bowed. "This disciple is Hua Anxiu. I have comprehended the Nether Capital Immeasurable Scripture, the Mystic Capital Mahayana Scripture, the Four Phases Kalpa Art, and the Nine Phoenixes Facing the Sun Art, and have now fused all four Emperor's Throne arts.

" Heavenly Venerable Hao smiled. "Passable strength, no more.

" Then a young man bowed. "This disciple, Pan Chunjin, has comprehended the Azure Wood Great Wilderness Scripture, the Southern Capital Heaven King Scripture, the Nether Capital Immeasurable Scripture, and the Yin-Yang Great Bliss Art. " One after another the young gods came forward, each naming the arts he had cultivated.

Though Heavenly Venerable Hao hoarded his own as a man hoards a worn broom, unwilling to pass on his true secret lore, the Hao Heaven Palace held Emperor's Throne arts in abundance, and he did not forbid his disciples and students to learn them. How many each learned depended on his own ability.

The disciples Kunwu had selected were all True Gods, yet most had fused three or four Emperor's Throne arts, and the best among them had fused five; all were lesser Heavenly Court arts, nothing particularly outstanding. Of course, set loose in the outer world, such figures would rank absolutely among the very summit of geniuses. Throughout the myriad heavens and worlds, Emperor's Throne arts were exceedingly rare; in some worlds, to speak nothing of a single Emperor's Throne art, even one True God was hard to find.

Heavenly Venerable Hao waited until all eighteen had spoken of what they had learned, then looked at Kunwu.