Chapter 610: Clearing the Heart and Seeing One's Nature

Gulp.

In the empty space, Mingxin opened his eyes and looked around blankly.

"... Where is this?"

"Have I arrived at the Western Paradise?"

Mingxin did not know what place this was, but he could feel that there was nothing here—it was a void of dead silence.

No, perhaps it could not be considered a void.

He could see broken buildings all around, exactly as described in the legends of the Western Paradise, only missing the figures of Bodhisattvas and Buddhas; it was all a hazy gray.

"So, is there really nothing in the Western Paradise?"

He hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward.

He crossed over broken walls and ruins, walking over a ground of debris.

Mingxin did not remember how long he had walked; perhaps it was a day, perhaps ten years, or perhaps just an instant.

He stopped his steps and looked up at the high mountain that had blocked his path at some unknown time.

Spirit Mountain.

A massive Spirit Mountain, which seemed countless times taller than the one in his memory, stood before him, blocking his way.

He did not try to go around it, but instead climbed the steps, for he did not know where to go, and he had already forgotten what he wanted to do.

Mingxin did not know how long he walked, and when his soul felt exhausted, he finally reached the very summit of Spirit Mountain.

At the peak of Spirit Mountain, Mingxin saw a person... if that could be considered a person.

And at the summit of Spirit Mountain, in front of the void, a headless Divine Statue sat cross-legged under a withered Bodhi tree.

Regarding this bizarre scene, Mingxin felt no fear; he walked to the front of the headless Divine Statue and sat down.

Although he had forgotten why he appeared here, he had a feeling that he had come to this place just to see it.

It was the origin of everything.

And just after Mingxin sat down, everything before his eyes changed.

In an instant, the Divine Statue seemed to come to life, and its decaying exterior underwent an astonishing transformation.

This headless body came to life, wearing simple monk robes, draped in a faded Buddhist monastic robe, and twisting a string of plain sandalwood Prayer Beads in its hands.

And this still did not make Mingxin feel surprised; it seemed like a very normal thing.

【"You are very much like me."】

The headless body spoke, and a strange voice, coming from nowhere, rang in Mingxin's ears.

【"Born with Buddha-light, clear of heart and seeing one's nature, this is the Buddha Body."】

The headless body said calmly, exposing the secret on Mingxin: 【"The Daoist sects have the Dao Body, and Buddhism has the Buddha Body... You are a natural Buddha Body. You are proficient in all ten thousand laws of Buddhism, and everything related to Buddhism will naturally be mastered; you were born destined to become a Buddha."】

【"If things had followed the normal course, you would have become the second me."】

【"Becoming a Fozi, eventually becoming the Spirit Mountain Fozhu, and finally transforming into a Buddha."】

【"But... that was only the original situation; now, that is no longer possible."】

Even though this headless body clearly showed no expression, Mingxin still felt the other's sense of guilt.

"..."

Perhaps just like the name his master gave him, Mingxin had been able to feel the emotions of others since he was small.

To understand one's own heart, to understand the hearts of others.

He did not know where this ability of his came from, nor did he understand the principles behind it, but he had used this ability to make his life much more convenient.

He was clear about the respect and awe those Believers felt when facing him.

He could feel the care his master had for them, his disciples, and he could also understand the distortion and collapse hidden deep within his master's heart.

He could know the sincerity of Ren Yidao when facing them as fellow disciples, and was clear that he had come with a kind heart, truly wanting to help the two of them.

Of course, Mingxin... could also feel the changes in the emotions of Minghui when facing him.

From the initial unconditional reliance, it suddenly turned into suspicion one day, and finally, after spending time together, it slowly transformed into trust.

He had actually known for a long time that Minghui had recovered her memories.

Even the fact that Minghui was originally a girl, he knew that too.

He had always known.

The two were silent for a moment, and the headless body asked gently: 【"Do you still remember what you did last?"】

"I..."

Mingxin was a bit dazed; he frowned and thought for a moment, then lowered his head and muttered: "I kept walking, walking without stopping, until I reached here, but before that, I..."

Rustle.

The dead Bodhi tree moved without wind, and the leaves made a rustling sound, which entered the depths of Mingxin's heart.

"..."

Listening to that sound, Mingxin's eyes gradually became clear; he slowly raised his head, looked at the headless body, and said: "I swallowed the Dao Fruit formed from flesh and blood."

That was it.

He had swallowed the flesh-and-blood Dao Fruit that the Fozi Jiexing had tampered with.

【"Do you know what will happen after doing this?"】

"... Of course."

Mingxin certainly understood what price he would pay after swallowing this flesh-and-blood Dao Fruit...

He would lose his self, the existence named Mingxin would disappear from the world, and replacing him would be a body eroded by flesh-and-blood corruption, exactly the same as the Fozi Jiexing.

But he would become the most critical link in disrupting the Fozhu's plan.

He supported the destruction of Buddhism, but he did not agree with the Fozhu's methods, so he had to use his own way to interrupt him.

As for this price, Mingxin knows it.

Has always known it.

【"Then why do it?"】 the headless torso asks, 【"If you do this, you will go to hell."】

Mingxin is silent, then soon shakes his head gently.

Knowing it cannot be done, yet doing it anyway.

Since there are things that require someone to sacrifice, then why can it not be me?

The young Monk raises his head; his voice is not loud, but the will contained within is extremely firm, and he says earnestly:

"If I do not enter hell, who will enter hell?"

He speaks the words Jiexing spoke before, and slowly closes his eyes.

This is not an empty statement, nor is it a deceptive tactic used to hoodwink others.

Mingxin thinks exactly this, and also acts exactly this way.

Sacrificing himself to fight for a glimmer of survival for the living beings of the Western Desert.

Mingxin does not know who the headless torso before him actually is, nor does he know why it wants to say so much to him... but he knows that as long as his will is firm, he will not be bewitched by it.

This Monk's will is set.

There is only death, nothing more.

He keeps his eyes tightly shut, reciting Buddhist scriptures in his heart, actively cutting himself off from everything in the outside world, so as not to be disturbed by that headless torso.

He just sits in meditation like this, unable to feel anything from the outside.

【"Child, do you feel you are prepared? Now, it is still too early."】 A peaceful voice rings out from thin air, as if speaking directly to his soul.

Mingxin's brows furrow slightly, but they soon smooth out again.

Do not listen.

It wants to bewitch me.

Mingxin thinks this, and the voice indeed grows further and further away, gradually disappearing.

But soon, the voice appears once again: 【"Escaping cannot solve any problems, and you did not make this choice to escape."】

Ignore it.

Must not be shaken in one's original heart by it!

I cannot!

Mingxin constantly resists, time and again unilaterally severing the connection with the other party, but every time that voice reconnects, its tone remains calm.

The two of them pull back and forth like this for who knows how many times; finally, the voice seems somewhat tired, and instead of saying any more words of dissuasion, it says: 【"It is not yet time for you to come here... but, perhaps you truly can do it."】

The voice leaves behind this ambiguous statement and then departs, never appearing again.

Mingxin still does not lower his guard, still sitting cross-legged in silence in the space isolated from the world.

Not knowing how much time has passed, Mingxin forgets the purpose of his meditation; layers of dust fall upon his body, constantly piling up, eventually turning into a hard stone shell.

The stone shell keeps increasing; he feels as if he has turned into a boulder in the mountains, remaining unchanged despite the wind and sun.

Finally, he becomes a stone.

Another unknown amount of time passes; one day, he is transported out of the mountains by a group of people and sent to a Daoist Field.

There, he is constantly struck by stone chisels, and the outer stone shell peels off layer by layer.

The hard outer shell falls away, and after stripping off the dust accumulated underneath, he finally returns to the Earthly Realm after experiencing thirty-six thousand cuts.

This time, he becomes a Buddha statue.

He is transported away by people and sent to a temple to be worshipped, enjoying the Incense of the Earthly Realm.

Thus, in a corner of the temple, there appears an additional statue of a Buddha with closed eyes.

Mingxin still does not open his eyes.

He had already awakened the moment he turned into a Buddha statue; he does not know what happened, nor is he clear why he had such an experience, but he still does not open his eyes.

This is a dream.

It still has not given up on bewitching me!

Mingxin thinks this, still sitting calmly upon the Lotus Platform, listening to the mortals below who constantly seek his help.

Mortals weep and beg, kneel, bow, kowtow, praying incessantly to him, praying to the stone statue on the Lotus Platform.

For their livelihoods, for their desires, for their dreams...

They recount their thoughts, offer a few sticks of thin Incense, and leave behind a few copper coins, hoping that the lifeless stone can help them realize them.

When they worship the Buddha, they are not worshipping the Buddha, but their own desires.

Mingxin does not open his eyes, nor does he respond to any of their prayers.

Yet even so, there are still people who constantly return to fulfill their vows, grateful to the Buddha for helping them realize their requests.

"I clearly did nothing at all; it is you yourselves who brought all this about. The person you should thank is not me, but yourselves." Mingxin thinks this and wants to speak, but mortals cannot hear the voice of a stone, and a stone has no way to speak.

Thus, gradually, this efficacious Buddha statue is sought after by more and more people, and is moved from the corner of the temple to the center of the main hall.

More and more people come to worship, the offerings they present become more and more numerous, and the requests they make become more and more frequent.

Mingxin gradually becomes somewhat weary of the disturbance, and feels more and more disgust toward these mortals.

Until one day later on, a change occurs.

A pilgrim who had spent his life's savings to worship the Buddha, but ultimately received no reward, arrives at the temple.

He carries towering rage and a long blade, drives away all the pilgrims, kills all the Monks in the temple who remained to resist, and then sets the entire temple ablaze with a single fire.

"Hahaha! Has your Buddha come to save you?"

"Believing in the Buddha is useless; it is better to believe in oneself!"

He says this, then drops the blood-stained butcher's knife, turns around, and walks into the fire, turning into a pile of charred remains along with the temple.

Even at this moment, Mingxin still did not open his eyes.

The Buddha statue that Mingxin had transformed into was buried by burning charcoal, its head broken off by the falling roof, becoming a headless Buddha statue.

He had a realization: he was becoming that headless Buddha statue.

What did it want to do?

Was it going to replace his identity?

Mingxin did not know, and the only resistance he could offer was to continue holding on.

Perhaps because of that Great Fire, the mortals had completely lost faith in the temple; no one came to clear the ruins, leaving the broken walls and debris where they were.

Mingxin remained buried in the dust like that, until one day, he heard the sound of a quilt being moved.

A quilt?

Mingxin was feeling bewildered when he suddenly heard a familiar, laughing scolding:

"You disobedient disciple, how much longer are you going to sleep? The sun is already hitting your backside, hurry up and wake up!"

It was the voice of his master, Venerable Jinglian.

!!?

At this moment, Mingxin's heart trembled; even knowing it was fake, he could not continue to hold on, and subconsciously opened his eyes.

Even if the person before him was false.

Even if it was just a dream, it did not matter.

He just wanted to see his master one more time.

Just one look would be enough!

But when Mingxin woke up, his expectant gaze was quickly met with disappointment; his master did not appear before him.

"..."

He was not even at the peak of Spirit Mountain anymore; he was still inside Spirit Mountain.

It seemed only an instant had passed in the world, and he still maintained the posture he had when swallowing the flesh-and-blood Dao Fruit.

Only, the taste of foul, bloody gore remained on his lips and teeth, but there was no sensation of rotting or burning in his throat or stomach.

It seemed he had not swallowed that Dao Fruit.

Then, where did that flesh-and-blood Dao Fruit go?

Mingxin had a sudden flash of insight and turned his head to look at the headless Buddha statue that had been thrown aside by Daoist Ren.

!!!

The blood bodhi that had flown out earlier had now merged with the flesh-and-blood Dao Fruit and was slowly sinking into the chest of the headless Buddha statue... it gave him no time or opportunity to stop it.

Thump-thump!

A powerful heartbeat sounded, echoing throughout the interior of Spirit Mountain.

It had come to life.

And, when the heartbeat emanated from the Buddha statue's chest, Mingxin's own heart beat in synchronization!

Thump-thump!

"This..."

Mingxin blankly raised his arm and scratched his bald head, feeling that the turn of events had exceeded his ability to understand.

Crack-crack!

The next moment, a crisp sound came from the Buddha statue's arm; the entire arm broke and shattered, revealing a limb of flesh and blood, which also reached up to touch its head... but touched nothing.

???

That was not the end; cracks spread rapidly from the arm to the entire body, the mud shell covering the whole body shattered, and it rapidly grew taller and larger; except for not having grown a head, it had become no different from an ordinary person... or more accurately, it was exactly the same as Mingxin.

This headless Buddha statue seemed to have become another body for him!

An incomparably powerful body!

"..."

Mingxin hesitated for a moment, then decisively stepped forward and raised his hand to touch the palm of the headless body.

Whoosh.

The next moment, Mingxin's body completely merged into the headless body!

The body trembled, then bent its knees and jumped with force.

It soared into the sky!

It smashed directly through the summit of Spirit Mountain!

Boom!!!