Chen Chengbi kept saying, "Indeed, indeed."
The living Buddha spoke gently, "Such martial techniques must also have been taught by a distinguished sect. That Little Sword Saint may not surpass you in swordplay, but his power is greater, so, my young friend, you have but one flaw."
"And this flaw is also your strength."
"Bodily constitution."
"Your body can sustain a fight with him, but it is not yet strong enough to withstand the pressure of the Inner Qi from One Layer Heaven directly during a clash. This must also be why that old lunatic brought you to see me, but perhaps, I will disappoint you."
The living Buddha released his hold and carelessly inserted the twig back onto the original tree.
Incredibly, the twig started to grow back, its leaves remaining fresh and green.
Having fought the Mixed Iron Battle Halberd in Li Guanyi’s hand with nothing but a twig, clashing innumerable times, the twig remained flexible, without even a trace of a mark left on it; such skill, effortless as lifting a feather, was far more remarkable than the strength to move mountains, revealing true mastery.
The old monk had Li Guanyi and Chen Chengbi sit down.
He took out a teapot from inside his robe, casually prepared the tea, and said, "The magic skill I cultivate is the ’Buddha’s saying of the strongman moving mountains,’ a straightforward task that requires Buddha Nature and time; it’s not hard to begin with, ordinary people can cultivate it to gain dozens of pounds in strength."
"However, to train it to a level suitable for combat, it also requires a decade or more of effort."
"Old lunatic, to cultivate the Glazed Body you speak of, it takes at least thirty years of hard Buddhist practice!"
"If you try to cram last minute, Buddha is mostly likely to kick you instead."
"This matter isn’t something that can be achieved quickly."
Li Guanyi watched the living Buddha.
For some reason, although Chen Chengbi and Chen Qingyan were also of high Martial Arts realm, they did not manifest a Dharma Form, whereas the living Buddha emanated the aura of a golden Buddha; when the bronze tripod got close to the living Buddha, it already began accumulating Jade Liquid. This was the third time being near the living Buddha.
The Jade Liquid was almost full.
Chen Chengbi, annoyed by the conversation, plainly said, "We’ve come all this way, just teach it and we’ll discuss it later."
The living Buddha looked at him, smiled, and nodded, then began to explain the teachings of the "Buddha’s saying of the strongman moving mountains," not starting from the scripture. When Chen Chengbi asked why he did not start with the scripture, the old monk said, "Martial arts are embedded within Buddhist Law, but one should not cultivate them through Buddhist Scripture."
"To speak of Buddhist Scripture and Buddhist Law is to mistake the finger pointing at the moon."
Li Guanyi asked, "Mistake the finger pointing at the moon?"
The old monk said, "Yes, the Buddhist Scripture is the finger, and it is meant to point to the moon. The purpose of the scripture is to show the moon, but many people get fixated on the scripture itself, which is like only looking at the finger and not the moon."
"What’s there to see in an old monk’s hand, old and wrinkled as it is? It is the moon that embodies the principle."
"When the moonlight falls into one’s eyes, that is the Buddhist Law."
"Yet many people are only fixated on the scripture, fixated on that one hand."
"Now, if I remove the scripture and only tell you to look at the moon, isn’t that better?"
"The essence of this scripture lies in the strongman. At its core, it seems to stem from an ancient legend of the Buddhas from the Western Regions, combined with the tale of the foolish old man moving the mountain from Central Earth, essentially about man facing mountains of difficulty, and God Buddha moving them."
"In its conception, it’s merely a Small Mahayana."
"But if I consider myself as the strongman, with all manner of difficulties ahead, even mountainous, I shall persist and move them aside, and that is a grander aspiration, come..."
The old monk spoke as if he were teaching Buddhist Law in the Western Regions.
His speech was fluent and detailed, sharing all of his insights and understanding on this particular scripture with this young man from Central Earth. Li Guanyi closed his eyes to introspect, using this Martial Arts to temper his body, his physical constitution already extremely strong.
But as he completed a cycle, he suddenly noticed something was off.
A warm current began to dissipate from within his muscles and bones.
Radiant and warm as the Buddha’s light.
Li Guanyi suddenly paused, recalling what Mr. Siming had mentioned before—that 300 years ago, the Overlord Tuyuhun had flattened the Buddha Country, and the relics from the Western Buddha Country were melted down to forge the King Seal. This meant that Li Guanyi’s constitution partially originated from the Buddhist Sect.
A feeling of stagnation and piercing pain emerged from the Xuan Gate Ancestor Acupoint between his brows.
It was like the time when Princess Chen Qingyan approached with her ice needles, slowly coming closer.
Li Guanyi realized something was wrong and suddenly opened his eyes.
It was still the same mountain, still the same pavilion, but Chen Chengbi and the old monk were gone. Yet their absence didn’t mean silence and emptiness had settled in.
Li Guanyi saw that the mountaintop was filled with monks sitting everywhere.
Looking up, he saw that the sun had become a bald head.
A twitch formed at the corner of Li Guanyi’s mouth.
He knew he had probably been duped by those bald monks.
From the reaction of the Xuan Gate Ancestor Acupoint, it seemed that not only was the King Seal used for body refinement, but the Divine Wills contained in those relics from the successive generations of living Buddhas also remained in Li Guanyi’s body. Although they would have gradually dissipated, they were awakened by the Buddhist Sect’s Cultivation Technique.
This was unforeseen by any living Buddha, as well as by Mr. Siming or Tuyuhun.
And even the predecessors of the Buddhist Sect couldn’t have imagined it.
No one thought that someone who used the relics for melting and cultivating would also practice the Buddhist Sect’s magic skills. Li Guanyi knew this place was likely his Consciousness Sea. Here, the lingering thoughts of those living Buddhas were not a trivial matter. Those generations of living Buddhas opened their eyes.
One of them, full of curiosity and speaking gently, asked, "Little benefactor, why are you here?"
"Why would we be able to see you? Our relics..."
"Hmm?? Master, how are you here as well?"
"And the founding master?"
This remnant thought of an unknown generation living Buddha was flabbergasted.