Chapter 632 — Where I Stand, There Is Youdu
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 5
Suddenly Dharma King Molun's death-shriek came from outside, and Chenghuai shuddered with dread: "It is over. Brother Shen is doomed! He has killed so many Buddha-children, and now five Buddhas besides; even Dharma King Molun, a Buddha Patriarch, has died at his hands.
How could the Great Brahma Heaven King ever suffer him to live?
" He turned around and ran for the temple gate, thinking, "I cannot let the Great Brahma Heaven King kill Brother Shen.
. .
" Suddenly a Buddha's invocation sounded: "Well done, well done; turn back, and the shore is at hand.
" Startled, Chenghuai saw a towering Buddha appear before him, holy in every aspect, smiling as he looked at him.
"Chenghuai, had you walked straight on without turning back, you would never have seen me.
Because you turned back, you may receive my lineage. " The towering great Buddha said with a smile, "Come up, and I will transmit to you the True Scripture of the Imperial Throne.
" Chenghuai stepped forward; his heart was anxious for Shen Mu, and he was about to beg this great Buddha to spare Shen Mu's life, when the great Buddha said with a smile, "Your heart of a newborn child is not the same as Zhankong's. Zhankong is void of the four elements within his heart, a natural root of wisdom; your nature is not his equal, yet you possess what he does not.
Therefore what I transmitted to him was the Wordless True Scripture, and what I transmit to you is the Written Heavenly Book.
" A scroll of scripture appeared in the great Buddha's hand, and he placed it in Chenghuai's.
Though Chenghuai held the True Scripture of the Imperial Throne in his hands, he still feared for Shen Mu's safety and had no heart to read it. The great Buddha, not waiting for his plea, said with a smile, "Young Friend Shen has his own destiny; you need not worry. Meditate on it with all your heart.
" Only then did Chenghuai set his heart at ease. He opened the scripture and saw the characters upon the page leaping and reforming without cease, most wondrously, expounding the supreme truth of the Buddhist teachings.
Outside the temple, the giant infant Shen Fengqing swallowed Dharma King Molun, put out his tongue and licked his lips, and capered in such excitement that the earth shuddered without cease: "Old Earth Lord's seal has come loose again, hee hee, and so long as I eat every last soul in this Buddhist realm, I can break free entirely. Then I will remake this Buddhist realm into another Youdu, and I myself will be Earth Lord, I will be king!
Mmm, and I must go to Youdu too and fetch Mother over, so we can live out our good days together and never have to watch Earth Lord's face again.
. .
Eh?
There is an earthen temple here still.
I will smash it all at once, eat everyone inside, and then go on to the other Buddhist realms and eat them clean!
" BOOM— The temple gate shattered into four pieces, and the giant infant, moving legs absurdly short for his body, burst into the temple; ahead of him the road stretched long.
The giant infant strode on, toddling forward, and as he walked he found two legs uncomfortable for the purpose, so he simply went forward on hands and feet.
A rustling sound of sweeping came to him, and ahead appeared a sweeping monk; at the sight of him the monk flung down his broom and would have fled. The giant infant was overjoyed, caught the sweeping monk in one hand, and said with a laugh, "A bit old, but better than nothing. " With that he tore the sweeping monk's head off, plucked out his primal spirit, and drew it into the third eye at his brow.
"If it were me, I would not eat just anything.
. .
" said Shen Mu's consciousness within the giant infant, sulking.