Chapter 630 — No Blade in the Buddha Land

As his three gazes swept across them, those several hundred Buddha-sons felt their hearts lurch in sudden alarm. Every manner of Buddhist chant rose unceasing in their ears, and each one whom Shen Mu's gaze touched could not help but fling open all his divine storehouses and let his aura erupt in full! For they had sensed the killing intent in his eyes, and every one of them believed that intent was aimed at himself.

Swept by that gaze, they burst out with all their power, a reaction so flustered that it cost them no small measure of their dignity — yet it gave a rare glimpse of how differently each of them cultivated his arts and divine powers.

Some bore a canopy of cloud-light above their heads, and within that cloud-light sat a great Buddha; some had halos behind their skulls, and a hundred-odd dainty Buddhas wheeled around them inside the halo, chanting the Buddhist sounds. Some had golden springs welling up beneath their feet, the springs spread with lotus leaves and blossoms, so that they stood upon a single red lotus at the center. Others had cultivated the stranger heterodox methods of the Buddhist order until they wore three heads and six arms with faces like yakshas; and others again were spotless, their whole bodies bathed in holy light.

Their primal weapons were no less fantastical — lutes, parasols, pearls, bows, treasured swords, vajras, golden maces, every kind of primal weapon under the sun; and some had forged strange beasts into weapons, driving the beasts with their primal essence and loosing them to maul men. The twenty heavens of the Buddhist order each had their Buddha Lords with different emphases, and so their arts differed too.

And among these Buddha-sons, besides the arts of the Buddhist order, many secret disciplines of the Heavenly Court had likewise been forced out by Shen Mu's gaze.

Under the regard of his third eye, every cultivation, every realm, stood plain and legible. These Buddha-sons were not grand figures like Qi Jiuyi — Qi Jiuyi was an honored man of the Heavenly Court, and the art he cultivated was an Emperor's Throne art; even Lu Li, military governor of Youdu, must treat him with the utmost reverence and dare not slight him.

The Buddha-sons, though they came from the Heavenly Court or were bound to it, had no access to Emperor's Throne arts; the Emperor's Throne arts were hardly cabbages by the roadside — otherwise the Heavenly Court would never have sent them here to try to master the true Emperor's Throne Sutra of Brahma, the Heavenly Buddha King. "Insolence!

" Dharma King Molun went crimson with fury and shouted, "To dare kill in my Buddhist realm — you truly are a fiend!

" Shen Mu paid him no heed. He withdrew his gaze and looked down at his own two hands, murmuring, "It has been a long time since I used my full strength.

.

. Even when I fought Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali, I never opened all three eyes. I do not know how far I have cultivated.

" Dharma King Molun was briefly taken aback; he was about to rage on when suddenly a voice came from the ruined temple — the voice of Sakra, the Heavenly Buddha King: "Junior brother Molun, calm yourself. When disciples contend, death and injury can hardly be avoided; will you step into the ring yourself? A life is no more than a stinking skin-bag, and Prince Moonlight has shed his — light and free, a cause for great rejoicing.

The rule is set: let the Buddha-sons challenge Layman Shen, and whoever wins takes the last place and enters the temple to learn the true Emperor's Throne Sutra.

" Dharma King Molun's wrath was past containing, yet he swallowed it, thinking, "Sakra, the Heavenly Buddha King, is backing this boy?

He can even bring himself to say such shameless words! " Yet since Sakra had spoken, he dared not be careless either, and he thought, "This little devil from the lower realm is indeed not weak, but to challenge every Buddha-son at once is to misjudge his own strength! The true Emperor's Throne Sutra of Brahma, the Heavenly Buddha King, is what matters; it will not do to fall out with them now — better to get the sutra first.

" In the ruined temple, Sakra, the Heavenly Buddha King, who was pondering the true Emperor's Throne Sutra, gave a muffled snort. The voice that had just spoken, stopping Molun, had not been his at all. He was deep in contemplation of the sutra — where would he find the time to mind the world outside? "Who is this, counterfeiting my voice? And such a good imitation! Of course — it must be senior brother Brahma.

He alone could mimic my voice so perfectly that no one could tell the difference. " Sakra's brows twitched.

"This is the first chamber pot dumped on my head. And senior brother himself clapped it there. I pray it is the only one.

. .

" "Prince Sunlight of the Heavenly Court has come to subdue the demon in your heart!

" Prince Sunlight stepped forward, a great sun blazing in the halo behind his head, and said calmly, "You come from the lower realm? The lower realm is a barren place; when a talent appears there at long last, it is only natural that he should lean on his gifts and hold all others cheap.

" Shen Mu did not raise his head to look at him, but went on studying his own hands, thinking silently, "Granny Zhu and the others always make me seal this eye, but sealing it also keeps me from knowing how far my strength has advanced. How strong, in the end, is my full strength?

Now at last I can find out.

. .

" Suddenly he was so elated that he shuddered again and again, trembling with elation, trembling with elation. Now at last he could unleash his full strength without worry, now at last he could strike without scruple, now at last he need not fear that his lust to destroy, and the sheer force of his destruction, would bring trouble upon his kin and friends! Now at last he could give himself rein and be again that youth of the Wasteland who feared neither heaven nor earth! A youth of the Wasteland need only act by the rules of the Wasteland; all other restraints belong to the outside world and have nothing to do with a Wasteland youth!

"Heh heh heh.

. .

hahahaha!

" Shen Mu laughed, and the laughter grew louder and louder. Prince Sunlight frowned slightly and said indifferently, "I am Prince Sunlight, crown prince of the Sunlight Buddha Kingdom, and fellow student of senior brother Moonlight in the Sword Palace of the Heavenly Court; we studied the sword together and are bound in deep friendship.

.

. " "You prattle on and on. Since you miss him so much, I will send you down to keep him company!

" Shen Mu suddenly struck out with his palm; the sword elixir swelled, burst, and countless flying swords shrieked up like a cloud blotting the sky.

The great sun behind Prince Sunlight's head flared in answer, and he laughed aloud, "I have been waiting for you! " Firelight spread through the great sun behind his head.

Unlike Prince Moonlight's Bright Moon Sword, his sword bore pure yang true fire; the great sun shone over all and burned everything, and the sword-light hid within the firelight and the sunlight, a radiance so dazzling that men could not open their eyes, could not see his sword! The Great Sun Divine Sword! His divine sword clashed with Shen Mu's rain of swords, and in an instant came the ringing of countless tinkling strokes.

Prince Sunlight's heart jumped, and then he felt his sword moves being broken: "There are three moves in his sword art.

. . no, four — four basic sword moves I have never seen before!

" His shock was beyond words.

Four basic sword moves! Never mind four — let a single new basic sword move appear, and every sword art under heaven would have to be reshuffled; the variations it added alone would already be beyond counting!

And here were four?

"Which means that in his eyes, every sword art of mine is riddled with flaws!