"Thank you, Buddha-Child."
Quinn expressed his gratitude. Since Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child was accompanying him, it would be improper to ride his Dragon-Qilin directly, so he dismounted and walked as a gesture of courtesy.
"It's already dark outside. Normally, we would have you stay the night, Cult Master."
The two of them made their way down the mountain at a leisurely pace. Although their steps were unhurried, they moved more than ten times faster than ordinary people. Buddha-Heart said, "Cult Master Quinn, though your stay at Great Thunderclap Temple was brief, you stirred up quite a commotion. Several monks lost their lives, some have left the mountain and returned to secular life, yet the Tathagata still allows you to leave."
Quinn smiled, "Tathagata is broad-minded, I truly admire him. No wonder he is Buddhism's foremost enlightened one. For him to put aside sectarian bias and help heal Granny Sue, I am deeply grateful."
Buddha-Heart smiled, "Cult Master, may I take another look at the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra?"
Quinn took out the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra and unfurled it, revealing countless words. Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child read as they walked, shaking his head, "This is truly a harmful method. Every move, every technique, is about taking lives. Even the cultivation process is deeply wicked."
Quinn was surprised, "Why do you say that, Buddha-Child?"
Buddha-Heart said, "Look at this Heaven-Forging Demon Art. It flays skin to make clothing, and seals souls and blood-essence to craft garments that can change endlessly. Isn’t this an evil art?"
Quinn laughed, "The Heaven-Forging Demon Art focuses on internal cultivation—sealing one's own soul and blood-essence to prevent invasion by outer demons. It’s not about flaying skin for clothes. If you want to change your appearance, the Creation Heavenly God Art combined with the Creation Spirit Art is more than enough."
Buddha-Heart shook his head, "Cult Master, it’s you who have misunderstood. The Heaven-Forging Demon Art is notorious—who hasn’t heard of it? You’re young, how many books have you read? It’s normal for your understanding to be off. Now look at this Creation Innate Art—it clearly requires harvesting the innate qi of newborn infants to cultivate! To master this technique and stay forever youthful, who knows how many newborns would have to die?"
Quinn was both amused and exasperated, correcting him, "Innate here doesn’t mean infants, but the state of an infant. Before birth, a baby is in the innate state—original yin and yang, holding unity, the purple river cart connecting to the mother’s innate qi, no need for breath, soul pure and flawless. Buddha-Child, you’ve misunderstood; cultivating this art doesn’t mean eating purple river carts or infants, but treating yourself as a newborn."
Buddha-Heart shook his head, "Cult Master, you still won’t admit it? This Creation Earth-Origin Art—doesn’t it collect the devil-fire from sun and earth, killing countless beings in the process? The more people die, the more vengeful souls there are, and the stronger its power. In the end, the devil-fire becomes hell itself—Earth-Origin!"
Quinn laughed, "This technique also has 'Creation' in its name—it’s for cultivating the spirit and strengthening the primordial spirit."
"Using others’ souls to strengthen your primordial spirit—isn’t that a demonic art?" Buddha-Heart pressed.
Quinn shook his head, "When combined with Creation Innate Art, this technique lets the mind hold unity, transforming into an infant state, connecting to the earth and gathering earth-mother qi to strengthen my primordial spirit. It can also be used to create all things. Buddha-Child, after cultivating the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra these days, my spiritual embryo is unusually strong—these two techniques are quite effective. You could try them yourself."
Buddha-Heart smiled, "I won’t cultivate them—I just wanted to criticize a bit."
Quinn gave him a deep look. Buddha-Heart’s demeanor was open and honest, not at all fake.
Quinn smiled, "Then, please continue, Buddha-Child."
Buddha-Heart continued reading the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra, "No wonder your Heavenly Demon Cult has ‘demon’ in its name—your demonic nature is far too heavy. The more I look at these techniques, the more they make my heart pound in horror. Here’s one called Mourning Art—does mastering it mean you have to wipe out entire families?"
Quinn shook his head, "This technique is actually the Mourning Hall art of my Holy Cult. It’s about crafting paper figures and horses, handling funerals for others, warding off ghosts and spirits, and blessing descendants. Buddha-Child, if you’re going to look with prejudice, perhaps you shouldn’t read further—I’d hate for it to corrupt your Buddha-heart."
Buddha-Heart laughed, "Cult Master Quinn, our Great Thunderclap Temple let you read the Grand Buddha Mahayana Scripture—won’t you let me read the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra?"
Quinn smiled, "Alright, suit yourself."
The two continued down the mountain. The more Buddha-Heart read, the more he shook his head. By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, it was already deep into the night, and he had read through most of the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra.
Quinn looked around. This was the territory of the Everpeace Empire; heading forward would lead into Everpeace, while descending the mountain from the other side would take him to the Great Ruins. But at this moment, the Great Ruins were shrouded in darkness—he could not set foot there.
The festival season had passed; now it was the second month. The sky was bright with a crescent moon, shedding a tranquil, ghostly light—far brighter than usual.
They were near Great Thunderclap Temple, where the high monks had already cleared away the Yin clouds above, making the sky exceptionally clear.
Nearby were some villages that worshipped Buddhism and enshrined Buddha statues. However, all the land here belonged to Great Thunderclap Temple, and the villagers were tenant farmers who grew crops and paid rent to the temple, not the imperial court.
Quinn had originally planned to return to Everpeace—both to continue his cultivation and to manage the Holy Cult. This time, when Tyson Li escaped from the Thousand-Buddha Pagoda, he also headed for Everpeace.
Buddha-Heart was still reading the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra. The two arrived at the mountain gate, where a gatekeeping monk sat with a lantern, and beside him slept a strange beast—the Fourfold Chimera.
Nearby were several attendants who, upon seeing them, quickly stood up. Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child stepped forward to inquire, and they replied, "We are the Crown Prince’s attendants—all laymen, so we cannot enter the temple. We are waiting outside."
"I must escort the demon cult master down the mountain and cannot entertain you. Forgive me."
Buddha-Heart called over the Fourfold Chimera, leading the strange beast forward. "Cult Master Quinn, I’ll need another half hour to finish reading. If you don’t mind, I’ll escort you a bit farther. Our temple’s Fourfold Chimera has listened to Buddhist teachings for years and is highly cultivated—it can keep pace with your Dragon-Qilin."
Quinn smiled, "That would be excellent."
The Fourfold Chimera walked side by side with the Dragon-Qilin. Buddha-Heart’s Buddha-light glowed behind his head, illuminating the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra as he continued to study it.
"Demon cult master?"
The Crown Prince’s attendants’ eyes lit up, "Which demon cult master?"
The gatekeeping monk said, "Who else? Cult Master Quinn of the Heavenly Demon Cult—he came in force, and has convinced many monks to return to secular life. Just these past few days, more monks have left the mountain, even several of my own senior uncles and elders have gone back to the lay world."
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The attendants exchanged glances and grinned, "Here’s our chance for merit! The Heavenly Demon Cult killed Sun Nanda and destroyed Nanda Temple—it was Cult Master Quinn behind the scenes. Didn’t expect to run into him here! Come on, let’s go earn our reward!"
The monk hurriedly said, "Good sirs, don’t commit sin by killing—please, don’t harm the Buddha-Child!"
The Crown Prince’s attendants laughed, "Don’t worry about it!"
Quinn sat atop the Dragon-Qilin, gazing up at the moon, his body gently rising and falling with the mount’s movements. It was the eighth day of the second month, and the crescent moon was sharply curved.
Buddha-Heart let out a breath and returned the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra to Quinn. "I’ve finally finished reading it—it’s certainly a demonic classic. Cult Master Quinn, why do you keep staring at the moon?"
"There is no moon in the Great Ruins."
Quinn withdrew his gaze, tapped the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra lightly, and the scripture transformed back into a ball of thread. He smiled, "So every time I see the moon, I find it beautiful and irresistible. Besides, I want to see exactly where Great Thunderclap Temple’s border lies."
Buddha-Heart was slightly startled, "Great Thunderclap Temple’s border?"
Quinn nodded. He saw the moon blocked by Yin clouds, then leapt from the Dragon-Qilin’s back. Where he landed, one side was bathed in moonlight, the other shrouded in the darkness left by the clouds. He smiled, "The temple’s border should be nearby. Look, Buddha-Child—the high monks have cleared all the Yin clouds within the boundary. The clouds outside belong to Everpeace and aren’t under the temple’s control."
Buddha-Heart also jumped down from the Fourfold Chimera, looking up at the sky and then at the ground. He was amazed, "I never knew the temple had a boundary. If that’s so, there should be a boundary marker nearby."
Quinn became interested and smiled, "Why don’t we look for it?"
Buddha-Heart seemed to have a boyish spirit as well. The two young men searched together, and after a while, they found a cliff with a bare, half-sheared stone stele standing atop it, more than ten zhang high. On it was inscribed: "Boundary of Great Thunderclap Temple."
Buddha-Heart clapped his hands and laughed, "There really is such a stone! Though I’m a monk here, I never heard the elders mention it. Cult Master Quinn, I’ve heard your Heavenly Demon Cult doesn’t cultivate the heart, that your techniques are quick to master but, since you don’t train the mind, they easily lead to qi deviation."
Quinn stood beneath the boundary marker, looking up at the inscription. "That’s what they say."
Buddha-Heart’s eyes flashed, "If you combined Buddhist heart-cultivation with the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra’s rapid progress, wouldn’t that make a flawless path?"
Quinn was still studying the inscription, answering absent-mindedly, "I wouldn’t know about that."
Buddha-Heart stared at Quinn’s back, while Quinn gazed at the stele ahead. Neither spoke another word.
Suddenly, Buddha-light blazed and demonic qi surged. Beneath the boundary marker, Buddha and demon split the world in two—righteous and evil clashed with a thunderous collision!
Quinn spun around, Buddha-light blazing behind his head like a halo, his figure like a giant Buddha in yellow robes. Every movement resounded with thunderous chants—he was wielding the Grand Buddha Mahayana Scripture. Buddha-Heart, meanwhile, was shrouded in demonic qi, his body ablaze with devil-fire, unleashing the Creation Earth-Origin Art!
Without a word, the two fought fiercely beneath the boundary marker. Quinn’s vital qi billowed above his head like clouds, faintly revealing five tiers of heavens with countless Buddhas worshipping. Buddha-Heart was engulfed in surging demonic qi, his devil-fire burning ever stronger.
The two clashed like rabbits and hawks beneath the boundary marker. Suddenly, a thunderous boom sounded—Buddha-Heart grunted and staggered back a step. Quinn advanced, striking again and again, each palm as heavy as the boundary stele itself!
Buddha-Heart kept retreating, blood streaming from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
Boom—
Quinn struck down again, like a great Buddha unleashing the fire of karma. Buddha-Heart raised his hand to block, but the sound of bones breaking echoed from within him. He retreated further, suddenly realizing his back was pressed against the stele—his heart sank.
Boom!
Quinn struck again—Buddha-Heart grunted and collapsed at the base of the stele, raising a hand, "Stop, I yield…"
Quinn kept pounding, fist after fist. After a while, he stood up, leaving Buddha-Heart battered and bloody.
"Your demonic nature runs too deep. I want to keep you alive and see how you’ll bring disaster to Great Thunderclap Temple in the future."
Quinn withdrew his hand, blood dripping from his fingertips as he looked at the mangled Buddha-Heart beneath the stele. He whispered, "You read the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra—every technique is a perversion, more demonic than demons themselves. If I let you live, the temple will surely fall by your hand."
Buddha-Heart still had a breath left and was about to speak when a sword light flashed—piercing his brow, the flying sword shot through his skull and nailed him to the stele.
A voice exclaimed joyfully, "We’ve finally killed the demon cult master! He was steeped in demonic energy!"
"In the end, Buddha-Child was too kind-hearted and couldn’t deliver the killing blow."
Another voice laughed, "Well, it worked out for us! Cut off his head and let’s claim our reward from the Crown Prince!"