Chapter 593: Future Method (23)

Ren Yidao naturally would not teach Mingxin the Joy Zen he had stolen from Zen Master Qinghuai; he was not yet that depraved... Although this thought had flashed through his mind, he ultimately pulled back from the brink and abandoned the evil act of corrupting Mingxin.

Besides, such things were always more precious the fewer people who mastered them; if everyone in the world had a copy, wouldn't it just become worthless?

Furthermore, if he could wipe out that branch of the Joy Zen Sect within the Lingyu Sect, he would become the only person in the world who knew this craft.

Things are valued for their scarcity.

By then, he would become the sole successor—oh, that's not right, the second-sole, there was another guy who had also stolen it!

Yaoyue had done it too!

What Ren Yidao wanted to ask about at this moment was serious business, regarding that Buddha statue he had dug up from Zhongzhou; that thing had been left to him by that giant beast, so he figured it shouldn't just be as simple as a handy weapon that could be swung around to smash people.

"I investigated it myself before, but I didn't make any progress. I'm asking you now to see if you might know a few more details." Ren Yidao pushed the Buddha statue in front of Mingxin so he could see it clearly.

"This is!?"

Mingxin's gaze locked onto the Buddha statue the moment it appeared. His heart and mind were shaken, and he looked at Ren Yidao in shock, saying urgently, "Daoist, where did you obtain this Buddha statue?"

Oh?

Ren Yidao had just been trying his luck; he hadn't expected Mingxin to actually have a lead.

"Do you know what kind of Buddha this is?"

"No, I don't. I have never seen His attire; this does not belong to the appearance of any Buddha I know, but I can be certain... this must be a Great Buddha!" Mingxin's voice carried a tremor, and he reached out to touch it lightly, unable to believe it.

However, to Ren Yidao's disappointment, after the Buddha statue came into contact with Mingxin, it did not erupt with light, nor did it emit any Sanskrit sounds; it remained plain and dull, without any change.

He had originally thought that someone with Buddha-nature like Mingxin would trigger some special change upon contact, but it seemed he had overthought it.

"Daoist, wait a moment. There is still some residual Buddha-nature on this statue; let me see if I can find some clues within it."

After hesitating for a moment, Mingxin sat cross-legged before the headless Buddha statue, raised his hand to press it against the statue's chest, and closed his eyes to slowly perceive it. He was communicating the connection between himself and the statue, hoping to find more clues.

At first, everything went smoothly, and Buddha light gradually rippled from Mingxin's body, but gradually, his brows slowly furrowed, and his whole body began to tremble slightly, as if he were suffering great pain.

Yet he himself seemed unaware of all these changes, still sinking his heart into the continuous exploration.

And just as Ren Yidao was hesitating whether to take the initiative to call a stop to it, Mingxin finally reacted.

"Wait, no... something is wrong!"

Mingxin's body shook violently, and he was jolted several feet away from his spot. He opened his eyes abruptly and gasped, "This is not an ordinary Buddha, this is a... Demon!?"

A Demon?

I'm familiar with that!

"Is there danger?" After Mingxin had his accident, Ren Yidao quickly put the headless Buddha statue away, hiding it back into his Consciousness Sea, just as he had done before.

Normally, cultivators would not put items of unknown origin into their own Consciousness Sea, because they might be subjected to malicious attacks by ill-intentioned entities and risk being possessed.

But Ren Yidao was different; he was not the least bit worried about his Consciousness Sea being threatened.

There were plenty of dangerous things inside his Consciousness Sea; if it were to erupt and cause trouble, it wasn't certain who would be the one getting hammered.

By this time, Mingxin had recovered. He had not suffered any substantial harm, but it seemed what he had seen was enough to shock his mental world.

It was a feeling of having his worldview shattered; the Buddha intent radiating from his body was flickering.

This performance made Ren Yidao feel it was quite strange, as Mingxin could maintain his original heart even in the Western Desert, which had fallen into the Demon path, without being influenced by others.

Yet who would have thought that just by sensing the residual Buddha-nature on this statue, his entire mindset would almost collapse.

What exactly did he see in that Buddha-nature? To make his Dao Heart waver so much?

And what was this "Demon" he spoke of?

"What exactly did His Buddha-nature say? Why did you call Him a Demon?"

Mingxin pursed his lips, shook his head, and said, "... No, it's just that I didn't explain it clearly just now. The feeling He gave me was very strange; although He possessed the Buddha-nature of a Great Buddha, He held hostility toward all Buddhas, like a Great Demon."

"He desires... to extinguish the Buddha, to make the world devoid of Buddha."

"He should not be called a Buddha, nor should He be called a Demon; perhaps He can be called a Demon Buddha."

Demon Buddha... Army Breaker?

The End of Dharma destroys the Heavenly Dao, Army Breaker kills the Tathagata!

"If that's the case, then I understand why this Demon Buddha had His head severed by someone." Ren Yidao looked at the severed neck of the headless Buddha statue and shook his head.

What a pity.

I didn't get to see His true majesty; Huhu wanted to see what such an existence looked like.

However, why did that giant beast leave this Buddha statue for me?

I did Him a favor; He wouldn't just leave me something useless, would He?

Ren Yidao pondered for a while and suddenly asked, "Besides His philosophy, did you feel anything else in that Buddha-nature?"

Mingxin blinked, still feeling lingering fear from what had just happened, but he tried his best to recall.

"It seems there was also a fragment of a cultivation technique... I have never seen such a complex technique, and this technique does not seem to originate from Buddhism."

A technique? And very complex?

Ren Yidao's heart skipped a beat, and a possibility emerged in his mind.

Wait, no way?

"Record it down and let me see."

Mingxin sensed Ren Yidao's excitement and hurriedly recorded the parts he recalled to pass to Ren Yidao, "This is about seventy percent of it."

"Seventy percent is enough."

Sure enough, the moment Ren Yidao saw that technique, he felt an inexplicable familiarity, and in his heart, he felt as expected.

"The Future Method?"

The instant he saw this broken scripture, Ren Yidao felt the technique within his body begin to circulate on its own.

The Ten Thousand Generations Art was moving.

At this moment, Ren Yidao had already mastered two-thirds of the Ten Thousand Generations Art, had mastered the Ten Thousand Demon Incarnation Art and the Ten Thousand Dao Thought-Melding Art, and had severed two past lives; now, only the final future body remained without a clue.

But now, he could be certain that this incomplete scripture analyzed from within the Demon Buddha was the final key, representing the third scripture of the Future Method!

Good!!!

It is just that, somewhat regrettably, this cultivation technique is truly too incomplete; even if it were the entirety within the Demon Buddha, I fear it would not even amount to half.

"Is this cultivation technique very important to you, Daoist?" It was the first time Mingxin had seen Ren Yidao behave so out of character, and he said in a low voice, "If you need it, I can try to perceive it again."

"It is important, but not that important. It is just an incomplete scripture, not worth you risking your life to probe." Ren Yidao shook his head, his mind sinking into his Consciousness Sea, and after testing it, he said, "Besides, now that I have a direction, I can perceive it myself; you don't need to take any more risks."

Previously, he did not know what exactly was on this headless Buddha statue, so he did not act rashly, but since he now understood, he set his mind at ease and could perceive it slowly. Although he lacked so-called Buddha-nature, relying on the cultivation he had gained from his two lives, he should be able to perceive the remaining scripture.

"But even if I perceive it all, it will only be half. What about the other half?" Ren Yidao pondered, feeling that this Future Method did not seem as simple as he had imagined.

The Future Method seemed to be divided into upper and lower sections, and what he held in his hands was only one of them.

"Forget it, take it one step at a time. I will first comprehend the section on the Demon Buddha statue, and then search for the rest later."

Ren Yidao did not know why that giant beast wanted to leave this for him, nor did he know why it knew he was missing the Future Method, but it had indeed been a great help.

"He really didn't lie to me; this is truly a grand gift."

Once Ren Yidao mastered this half of the Future Method, he would have learned five-sixths of the Ten Thousand Generations Art.

The Past Self, the Present Self, plus half of the Future Self—he had mastered a full two-and-a-half selves!

With a little more effort, he would be able to go fight Sukuna later...

The power of the Ten Thousand Generations Art was obvious to all; beyond the two selves, it had also allowed Ren Yidao to dream back to ancient times, granting him several special experiences.

It could even be said that those special experiences were more important than a direct increase in combat power!

"I wonder if, after mastering the Future Method, I will be able to return to the past with more control, or even... see the future?"

Ren Yidao let his thoughts wander, but ultimately forced himself to calm down.

Nothing is set in stone yet, so don't think too much; popping the champagne at halftime is ill-advised.

"Daoist, where exactly did you find this Buddha statue?" After hesitating for a moment, Mingxin asked in a hushed tone, "If Spirit Mountain discovers it, they will certainly do everything in their power to destroy it!"

Although Spirit Mountain had fallen into the Demon path at this moment, when it came down to it, it was still Buddhism and would not allow such heterodox Buddha statues to exist.

"Hmm, let's just say it was a stroke of luck." Ren Yidao answered vaguely, not revealing the truth.

Because he always felt that this Buddha statue might attract some unnecessary trouble, and there was no need for Mingxin to know too much.

"Alright, you don't need to get involved in this matter anymore; I have my own judgment."

"... Yes, this humble monk understands."

Linbei Oasis.

"Hmm?"

After sending off the last merchant, the Chijiao monk was just about to turn and leave when his expression suddenly shifted, and he reached out to touch the Bodhi seed in his robes.

Just a moment ago, he felt the Bodhi seed tremble!

Chijiao's expression changed, and he joyfully sent a message to the Bodhi: "A discovery? Have you sensed the traces of the Fozi again?"

The consciousness of the Bodhi seed was not clear; he sensed it for a long time before he figured out what it was expressing.

"It appeared for a while, then disappeared again." Chijiao's expression was somewhat ugly; he had not expected the clue that had finally appeared to be broken again.

"... It's okay, don't be anxious. We can be certain of one thing now: he is still in the Western Desert. Our direction is correct; as long as we spend a little more time, we will be able to find him." Chijiao soothed the Bodhi seed for a while, then put it away and looked up toward the direction where the Fozi's aura had last appeared.

"Wait for me, I will definitely find you."

He whispered silently in his heart:

"I believe you have not completely perished."