The Great Thunderclap Monastery.
The bell rang long and clear, clanging without stop—the welcoming bell.
Qin Mu carried Village Chief up the mountain and saw a majestic Tathagata Buddha leading the monks to welcome them. At this moment, the youth felt a trace of melancholy. Horse King, with his cold exterior but warm heart, had finally become the Tathagata of the Great Thunderclap Monastery, become a Buddha.
He couldn't let go of the place where he grew up. The monks of the Great Thunderclap Monastery had indeed killed his wife and children, but that wasn't done by the old Tathagata—it was done by the monks below.
He was the old Tathagata's disciple. The old Tathagata knew him deeply, and he knew the old Tathagata deeply. The old Tathagata was old and couldn't control the monks below. The Arhats from the Arhat Hall and monks from other halls descended the mountain, and his wife and children lost their lives because of it.
The old Tathagata had cut off his own arm and returned it to him. Although it hadn't resolved the hatred in his heart, he still had to inherit his master's legacy and couldn't let the Great Thunderclap Monastery be destroyed.
When he returned to his old home and sat upon the Tathagata's throne, wind swept past him carrying gray clouds, and in the dissipation of mist, he suddenly achieved true suchness, broke through the final realm of the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra, and attained the Brahma Heaven realm.
From the Sakra Heaven to the Brahma Heaven was a sudden enlightenment, a perfect awakening.
At the golden summit of the Great Thunderclap Monastery, Qin Mu looked at Old Horse who had raised him, various feelings stirring in his heart, and finally called out "Senior Brother."
This Tathagata of the Great Thunderclap Monastery had achieved the supreme realm, the Brahma Heaven realm, with physical body, spiritual perception, and true suchness all complete. Behind him were twenty layers of heavenly realms, with the Brahma Heaven King sitting cross-legged, surrounded by gods and Buddhas of all sizes, eternal light, sacred and merciful.
"Senior Brother." Old Horse returned the greeting.
Qin Mu felt somber. Old Horse sitting in this position meant he was no longer the Old Horse of before, but the Tathagata. He needed to let go of worldly affairs, and become empty of the four elements.
The Cripple was also there. Though nominally there to observe the ceremony, he was actually worried about Horse's safety, fearing the monks of the Great Thunderclap Monastery would do him harm.
However, Horse had now reached the highest realm of the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra and didn't need his protection. The Cripple couldn't sit still. The Great Thunderclap Monastery was filled with treasures everywhere, Buddhist temples overflowing with rare and precious items, making this old thief restless. He wanted to steal them but felt guilty, and seeing Qin Mu and Village Chief arrive, he couldn't help suggesting they leave soon.
Qin Mu wanted to stay a few more days, but at night he saw brilliant lights to the north—Qingmen Pass. Such dazzling lights meant fierce battle at Qingmen Pass.
Next to Qingmen Pass was the Underworld Valley, home of the two white bats, not too far from the Great Thunderclap Monastery.
Early the next morning, Qin Mu bid farewell and left with Village Chief, Xiong Xiyu, the Cripple, and others.
"When I met Old Horse, he was the most famous bounty hunter in the world, known as Horse God Catcher. He almost caught me."
The Cripple looked back. Mount Sumeru's golden summit blazed with golden light, Buddhist sounds resounded and vast, even materializing into text, into lotus flowers, into phantom Buddhas in the void, surrounding this sacred ground.
The Cripple was entranced, whispering: "He caught me many times, competed many times. What I feared most and respected most was him. When I was young, I was an orphan with nothing, begging everywhere. When I couldn't bear the hunger, I stole. I didn't dare rob because I was small and thin. Later, I was caught by an old bounty hunter. He didn't take me to the authorities, just wouldn't let me steal. He taught me his craft, like a father. I followed him, fantasizing that one day I could become a bounty hunter too. Old Horse reminded me of him. I think Old Horse looks especially like him when he's serious..."
Qin Mu sat on the Dragon Qilin's back without a word, listening with Village Chief as the Cripple recounted the past.
"I had no father. I thought the old bounty hunter was my father. Those years following him, I worked特别 hard and was特别 happy. One day, the old bounty hunter died."
The Cripple widened his eyes, his tone completely calm: "At midnight, his enemies came looking. I was still sleeping when I heard fighting outside. He burst in, fighting to get me out, saying to me, 'Child, be a good person... Run!' I wasn't wearing clothes, ran bare, ran and ran, my speed getting faster and faster. I cried and begged people to help, but no one came out, no one..."
A thin, weak boy running naked and helpless, begging for help, but no one helped him.
The Cripple ran from night into day, covering over ten thousand li. When he came to his senses and returned to the old bounty hunter's home, it had been burned to the ground. He only dug out the old bounty hunter's charred bones.
"He told me to be a good person. He himself was a good person his whole life, but what did he get? I won't be a good person! He wouldn't let me steal, so I stole."
The Cripple said dejectedly: "I stole while running, ran while stealing. My reputation grew and I was called a legendary thief. What seals, what prohibitions—I didn't care about any of them. I outran the wind, outran the clouds, outran lightning. I stole everywhere, every sect, every sacred ground—I stole from them all. I finally found his enemies and stole their heads. When I commemorated the old bounty hunter, I wanted to be a good person, but I had caught the stealing habit and couldn't quit. Later I met Old Horse. He reminded me of the old bounty hunter. I wasn't afraid of him—I respected him. Now he's become a Tathagata, with his merciful countenance, reminding me whether the old bounty hunter had also become a Buddha..."
Village Chief poked his head out of the herb basket: "Old Horse won't become a Buddha. One day when a new Tathagata arrives, he'll take off his kasaya and be the Old Horse of before again."
The Cripple looked up at the sky: "I hope so."
Qin Mu let out a turbid breath, saying softly: "Horse will come back..."
Along the way, he had completely purged the poison from Xiong Xiyu's body and prepared several spiritual pills to nourish her vitality. They finally reached the Underworld Valley. The two white bats flew into the valley's gorge, hanging upside down on trees, bidding farewell to Qin Mu and the others.
"Cult Master, come visit when you're free—we won't eat you!" Fu Yuqiu said.
Qin Mu laughed heartily and waved goodbye. The two white bats immediately flew into the valley, calling: "Wake up the ancestors! Get them to have a few baby girls to continue the race!"
"Even if they're born, they'd be our grandmothers—how could they continue the race? And what if both ancestors are male?"
"Shut up!"
...
The Dragon Qilin left the Underworld Valley. Before long, they saw a magnificent battlefield. The forests of the Duck Tongue region had been trampled flat. The Great Ruins' Duck Tongue region stretched for nearly a thousand li, with undulating forests and mountains, now leveled by both sides into a battlefield between the Barbarian Di Kingdom and the State of Yankang!
When Qin Mu and the others arrived, a grand battle was erupting. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both sides charged before two great passes. Divine abilities blotted out the sky and sun. Massive exotic beasts stomped the earth, carrying countless cultivators forward. Those cultivators surrounded the beasts, floating in the air or landing on the beasts' backs.
Below the mountain-sized beasts were warriors wielding swords and blades, charging madly forward, colliding with enemies on the ground—flesh and blood flying in an instant.
Above the beasts, towered boats filled the sky, banners fluttering. The boats' cannons roared, beams of light as thick as buckets blasted the enemy army with annihilating power—everything in their path was evaporated!
In mid-air, countless glowing knife pills and sword pills spun rapidly, their flashes of blade and sword light piercing through flesh and blood.
Above, Golden Palace shamans transformed into golden eagle-headed human forms, spreading their wings and flying. With a wave of their hands, countless lights shot in all directions.
Underground, elephant-headed golden giants charged wildly.
On both sides' passes, great flags and mirrors shone, mirrors illuminating the cultivators' souls in midair. Great banners rolled, winds and clouds changed, thunder rained down upon the battlefield.
Great cloud carts pulled by bare-chested giants rushed into battle, scattering flesh and blood wherever they passed. At the front, the giants halted and opened the carts, revealing countless gourds. Opening the gourds' mouths, gu insects swarmed out, darkening the sky, burrowing into enemy soldiers and gn疯狂啃咬.
Altars were pushed out one after another. Golden Palace shamans performed rituals on the altars, casting unknown shamanic arts specifically targeting Yankang generals, leaving the enemy leaderless.
Yankang responded by sending squads of sword-cultivating cultivators, cutting through obstacles straight into battle to slay the Golden Palace shamans on the altars.
This scene was truly awe-inspiring. Both sides had clearly been fighting for who knows how long, blood flowing like rivers, the Duck Tongue region turned into hell.
It was Qin Mu's first time witnessing such a magnificent scene, his heart trembling. This was a battlefield that men yearned for, but also where men died.
Xiong Xiyu held Xiong Qier, her face pale, saying softly: "Such a huge scene—how do we get through? My cultivation hasn't recovered yet..."
She had only recovered to the Heavenly Man realm level. In such a battlefield, Heavenly Man realm strength was insignificant. Heavenly Man realm experts could die at any moment within killing formations of Seven Star realm soldiers.
Even Life and Death realm experts forcing their way through the battlefield would struggle to survive.
After all, Xiong Xiyu had once been a Cult Master-level existence. Looking around, she saw that wherever three to fifty people gathered, formation lines kept lighting up—either on the ground or floating in the air, constantly rotating and shifting. This showed that despite the battlefield's vastness and the great numbers, the formations never fell into disorder.
Breaking in would mean being ground down by war formations. If one formation couldn't kill you, another would.
Qin Mu tightened the herb basket on his back. Inside, Village Chief laughed: "Just walk through. Mu'er, you've learned the move 'One Sword Opens the Emperor's Blood Ocean,' right? Let me demonstrate it again for you."
Qin Mu's heart stirred. Suddenly, boundless sword light erupted, surging toward the battlefield. In an instant, the light of the sword enveloped the battlefield before the two great passes. Countless soldiers were bathed in an ocean of sword light, those sword lights rotating and coiling around them, making them dare not move at all!
The many soldiers standing atop the two great passes watched the scene below and ahead with tingling scalps. It had become an ocean of sword light, everyone submerged in its radiance!
"Sound retreat!" Sharp commands rang from both city towers, but everyone on the battlefield stood frozen, not a single army retreating—even the aerial towered boats hung motionless.
If they moved, they would die.
If these sword lights moved, it would become a blood ocean!
"A master has arrived!"
On Qingmen Pass's tower, a middle-aged man walked over and looked down to see a massive Dragon Qilin strolling unhurriedly through the ocean of sword light.
"State Preceptor!" The soldiers all saluted.