Chapter 260 — The Old Ox and the Broken Cart
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 5
"Heretical demon, cultivating not the true Buddha — you deserve a hundred deaths! " Golden light surfaced all about the long-eared monk.
He crossed his arms, chanted the true words of the Buddhist gate, and at the same time worked two mudras, exquisite beyond compare, striking at the places Quan Dingwu was forced to defend.
But Quan Dingwu did not dodge at all; he let the two strokes of the Art of Victory in Battle land upon his body. From under his arms arm after arm waved — arms formed of vital essence, gripping saber and shield, spear and lance, sword and halberd: the saber cut, the shield smote, the spear thrust, the lance pierced, the sword sliced, the halberd hooked.
They severed the long-eared monk's arms; the shield smote and shattered his skull; the spear ran him through the chest and lifted him up; the lance came out through his back; the sword's light wiped across his throat; and the long halberd hung his body aloft. And behind them, the god of slaughter met the great Buddha, and they crashed together with a boom; sea of fire and sea of blood surged and churned, like a great whirlpool screaming and turning about the two of them. "You did not dodge.
. .
" said the long-eared monk, impaled in midair by Quan Dingwu, hung on the long halberd, his voice hoarse. A great shield smashed down out of the sky and crushed him to powder. "On the battlefield one kills in a stroke or two — why dodge?
The battlefield is the art of killing.
To duel spells with you would be to use my weakness against your strength. " Quan Dingwu vomited great mouthfuls of blood.
The long-eared monk's two mudras had nearly shattered his five viscera and six bowels, and his ribs and shoulder blades were smashed to bits; the pain made him gasp. Suddenly a hand blazing with golden light pressed down; with a great booming crash it smote him into the earth. Another monk came killing, hands curved as if embracing emptiness, and a pagoda of eighteen heavens came crushing down with a roar — a pagoda crowded with gods and Buddhas, crushing Quan Dingwu until his bones broke and his sinews snapped. "Chan Master Yuankong, you too are of our Buddhist gate — why walk the demonic path and be the court's running dog? " Abbess Hongyin, head of the Fahong Court of the Great Tingming Temple, blocked Grand Commandant Monk Yuankong's way and urged him: "You should wake up; go no further down this wrong road!
Go further, and you will never attain the true fruit!
" Monk Yuankong's eyes flashed as he shouted: "What is the true fruit?
With a Buddha in your heart, you can never attain the true fruit.
His Majesty charged me with the law of the armies; I have turned iron law into chains wrapped about my body.
When I snap those shackles, I shall attain the true fruit where I stand! " Abbess Hongyin was enraged.
She whirled her whisk and came at him: "You are stained with evil karma — I shall rid you of it! " The great battle erupted. One after another the old Daoist priests of the Daoist Order offered up their swords, and in an instant sword-light filled the heavens — the sword arts of the Fourteen Chapters of the Dao Sword, truly formidable beyond compare, keen beyond compare, worthy indeed of the Daoist Order's foremost swordsmanship.
"Form the array — expel the demons!
" cried one old Daoist. "Set the array — refine these old ox-noses!
" Xue Bi'e shouted fiercely, and the two Heavenly Kings and the twelve Protector Elders formed a great array and met the old Daoists. The two sides had long been old acquaintances and old foes; they had fought times beyond counting, and knew each other's methods well.
On the other side, the Grand General of Heavenly Strategy, the High Minister, the Minister of Works, the Minister of State, the Prince of Mount Tai, and the rest were blocked by the powerhouses of the Great Tingming Temple.