Chapter 252 — Demonic Arts Are Not His Forte
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
He was plainly an accomplished monk, a youthful Buddha, an azure dragon coiling about him, his hallowed aspect majestic and serene. The next moment, Chenghuai saw Shen Mu's palm break through the bell; palm became fist, and the fist-seal pressed against his own breast, and his heart lurched in alarm. That blow of Shen Mu's had slipped precisely through the flaw in his Tingming Mahayana Sutra: the fist a seal, entering by the gap and driving straight home, the strike all but planted on his death-point. Yet there was little force in that fist; it barely touched him before Shen Mu drew it back.
The monks' hearts settled. "This demon's cultivation is not high; it is only his moves that are exquisite.
" Chenghuai steadied himself and hurried to counterattack, but Shen Mu's body moved like a roaming dragon, circling and gliding, a thousand arms dancing. In an instant the sutra-bell showed flaws beyond counting; the death-points at his brow, in both ears, both eyes, at his back, his sea of qi, his jade pillow, all were sealed by Shen Mu, and in the blink of an eye he had taken a hundred and more lethal blows.
Every one of those blows was aimed at a flaw in his Tingming Mahayana Sutra. Chenghuai was dumbstruck, feeling himself like a jar leaking on every side, mortal flaws everywhere, and cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
In recent years, to rid himself of his flaws, he had taken it upon himself to amend the Tingming Mahayana Sutra. He had thought the flaw at his throat erased, never reckoning that one hair moved and the whole body stirred; instead his flaws had only multiplied.
"So this demon's cultivation truly is not high!
" The monks were reassured.
"He still cannot break Chenghuai's golden bell of protection. However exquisite his moves, without great cultivation they carry no killing force. " Shen Mu withdrew his hand, and Chenghuai, coming to his senses, bowed in hasty thanks. "Thank you for your guidance, senior brother! Only now do I know that the Tingming Mahayana Sutra may not be lightly altered.
" Shen Mu shook his head. "It is not that it cannot be altered, but that you lack an opponent who can draw out your talents and your potential to the full. If you had a man of brilliant mind and far sight, one who could force you to advance without pause and strip the flaws from your art one by one, then you could become flawless.
" Chenghuai looked at him in haste, and Shen Mu shook his head again. "Not I. I have no such ability.
Go to the Tathagata and have him transmit the Tingming Mahayana Sutra to you directly.
If I am your opponent, the gains you make will be limited. " Chenghuai assented.
"The Tathagata sets great store by karmic affinity. I do not know whether I have such an affinity.
. . Oh no! " His face changed drastically, and he stamped his foot.
"This is bad! If you had lost to me, they would have been too ashamed to go on beating you to death; but now that you have beaten me, they will still want to kill you! What is to be done?
" "Chenghuai, stand down. " A middle-aged monk stepped forward, his face somewhat dark, and berated him: "Junior brother Chenghuai, you are far too softhearted!
This is the subduing of demons and the slaying of devils. You still held back and did not use your full cultivation. Would you spare his life and leave this demon to wreak havoc upon the world?
That is a sin beyond measure!
" Chenghuai opened his mouth to speak, but the monk flicked his sleeve. "Will you not withdraw and examine yourself? " Chenghuai had no choice but to withdraw, feeling deeply wronged. "Where did I hold back?
I used my full strength, every bit of it.
" The middle-aged monk looked at Shen Mu. "Cult Master Shen, you are the master of the Dark Demon Cult, while I am merely a nameless monk of the Heaven Dragon Court of the Great Tingming Temple.
You would not call this the strong bullying the weak, I trust? " Shen Mu smiled. "No.
Call it me, the great, bullying the small.