Chapter 254 — The Bodhi Heart of Compassion

" Shen Mu looked up, his heart shaken - this pagoda was a little too magnificent; truly its spirit uprooted mountains and rivers, towering and awe-inspiring!

They entered the pagoda and came to the first hall, the Hall of King Yama, where several young novices were cultivating the Thunderclap Mahayana Sutra.

A white-browed monk hurried forward and said, "Horse King. " Old Master Huo said, "We would like to look around.

" The white-browed monk's face showed difficulty: "This is a place where the Thunderclap Mahayana Sutra is cultivated.

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" A voice suddenly said, "Elder brother, the Buddha has said that the Great Thunderclap Temple has no place that cannot be shown to others - any place may be visited by them.

" The white-browed monk looked over and said hastily, "Buddha's Scion. " A young monk walked in, greeted Old Master Huo with a salute, and said, "Elder brother.

" Then he saluted Shen Mu: "Hierarch Shen. " Shen Mu returned the salute and smiled: "So you are Foxin, the Buddha's Scion.

I once caught a glimpse of you outside the Grand Academy, but you did not see me.

" This monk had a smooth and rounded crown, a solemn and noble countenance; his eyes shone bright as jewels, his earlobes hung like drops of water, and a red mark lay at the center of his brow - most extraordinary. It was indeed Foxin, the Buddha's Scion. Foxin had once followed the white-browed monk Jingming to block the gate of the Grand Academy; Shen Mu had drifted over for a look, but since the Young Patriarch had offered no reward, and Shen Mu still had to drug the green ox, he had not crossed hands with him.

When Physician You and the others drugged the Grand Academy, Si Yunxiang had slipped out on the sly and fought a bout with him, forcing Foxin, the Buddha's Scion, to retreat before the difficulty. Foxin, the Buddha's Scion, studied Shen Mu and saw that although this Hierarch of the Dark Demon Cult was courteous and refined, gentle and cultivated, every inch the gentleman, his gaze was highly invasive - from time to time a wild, unbridled brilliance burst from his eyes and stabbed into the very hearts of others, making his own heart leap: "This man's demonic nature runs deep! " Foxin said to the white-browed monk: "The Tathagata has said that there is no harm even in showing the Thunderclap Mahayana Sutra to Hierarch Shen. In our Great Thunderclap Temple, the Thunderclap Mahayana Sutra cannot be cultivated at all by one without Buddha-nature.

Besides, Elder Brother Horse King has a set of the Thunderclap Mahayana Sutra as well - if he had wished to transmit it to Hierarch Shen, he could have done so long ago. Two lay benefactors, Elder Brother Horse King - all three of you, please observe as freely as you like.

" The white-browed monk set his mind at ease and began expounding to the novices the wonders of the first heaven of the Thunderclap Mahayana Sutra, the Heaven of King Yama, showing not the least restraint on account of Shen Mu and the others being present. After a while, something stirred in Shen Mu's understanding; he activated the Thunderclap Mahayana Sutra he had heard, and felt his body pass through the eight cold torments and the eight hot, as though he had fallen into hell itself and become King Yama.

Foxin saw a precious light suddenly radiate from his body, and his heart jumped: "This is Buddha-light! Standing right here, he has awakened the first heaven of the Thunderclap Mahayana Sutra?

Can it be that he has Buddha-nature? Is he not a demon lord?

" Old Master Huo likewise saw the Buddha-light that suddenly burst from Shen Mu's body and said, "My boy Shen, you already have the first heaven of the Thunderclap Mahayana Sutra; no need to listen at this level - let us go to the next. " Shen Mu followed Old Master Huo and the blind elder to the Hall of Sagara, the Dragon King, and Foxin, the Buddha's Scion, hurried after them.

Here, too, an old monk was expounding the profound mysteries of the Heaven of Sagara, the Dragon King.

Before long, Foxin, the Buddha's Scion, felt that the Buddha-light on Shen Mu's body had grown heavier by yet another degree. His heart shook violently - one with a demonic nature could never cultivate the Thunderclap Mahayana Sutra; Shen Mu was the Hierarch of the Dark Demon Cult, demon among demons, and yet he had stood there listening for a short while and already cultivated the Thunderclap Mahayana Sutra to the second heaven - it was too astonishing, too shocking for the world! For it must be known that Foxin was called the Buddha's Scion precisely because he possessed a heart as clear and luminous as a newborn child; when he first came here, he too had cultivated the Thunderclap Mahayana Sutra to the fourth heaven in a very brief time, shaking the Great Thunderclap Temple and being honored as the Buddha's Scion.

And he had heard that the Horse King was likewise; Foxin had heard the legends about him - it was said that in his day the Horse King had driven straight through to the fifth heaven in a single breath, and the Old Tathagata, holding him in the highest regard, had nurtured him as the next Tathagata. "A demon head of the Dark Demon Cult can never have Buddha-nature as deep as mine! " Foxin thought to himself.

At the third heaven, Shen Mu, without knowing it, awakened once more to the state of mind of the Moon Palace Prince in the Thunderclap Mahayana Sutra and cultivated the Heaven of the Moon Palace Prince; Buddha-light appeared behind his head, a precious moon radiant as a flower in bloom - and in this very Hall of the Moon Palace Prince, few were the monks who had cultivated this heaven! At the fourth heaven, Shen Mu awakened the state of mind of the Sun Palace Prince in the Thunderclap Mahayana Sutra; Buddha-light appeared behind his head - the great sun blazed in flames, and he looked for all the world like an enlightened master of the Dharma!