Chapter 1153 — Enlightenment in the Pot
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 3
Fortunately he had obtained the Immeasurable Kalpa Sutra of the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha, entering the Dao within dreams, able by dream to deduce and derive, and out of countless deaths to seek the one correct road.
He fell asleep once more, and in that slumber the little Shen Mus' knowledge and accumulation were deeper than the last time he had entered a dream.
Yet this time the miniature Shen Mus in the dream diverged still more sharply, all but one faction to a man, none acknowledging any other.
They slaughtered until heaven and earth went dark. Plainly, the Shen Mu in slumber was more unbridled, more given to letting himself go: since he could not persuade the other, he simply annihilated him — the comportment, to the letter, of a great demon lord.
And not one great demon lord, but a whole nest of them.
Shen Mu had no choice but to divide dream from dream, forbidding them to gather together; yet through the dreams these little fellows still spoke with one another, and still judged each other heretics who must be destroyed. They broke through dream after dream to slaughter their way to one another, and another melee erupted, another wild brawl.
Of a sudden one little Shen Mu deployed the Immutability of Matter he had comprehended, and every one of them was seen to grow old at a pace visible to the naked eye. Soon a whole crowd of Shen Mus less than a foot tall, white of hair, beards trailing to the ground, hobbled into the fray upon their canes, raising their sticks to knock at one another's heads.
Shen Mu woke again, dispersed the dream, set himself in order, and then, never yielding, entered dream once more.
Before long he woke again — another failure. The Immeasurable Kalpa Sutra seemed to have met a problem it could not solve.
The difficulty of Heavenly Venerable Ling's Immutability of Matter — was it merely monstrous? It was simply beyond solution! Had Shen Mu comprehended it in orderly fashion, by now ten thousand years would likely have passed, and he would have died no one knows how many times!
And each death of a different fashion, every one outlandish and strange! Again and again Shen Mu entered dream, seeking one thread of possibility amid ten thousand errors.
In this dream, of a sudden one of the miniature Shen Mus deployed a divine ability; a mystic, mystery-laden Dao sound rang out, and mist came gushing forth.
The other miniature Shen Mus were struck dumb, staring blankly at the sight.
The mist spread wider and wider, wrapping them all within; after a long while it dispersed, and on the ground remained only a heap of withered bones. This too was a failure.
Shen Mu dispersed the dream, yet he leapt up in wonder and in joy, pacing to and fro in a ferment, unable to hide his elation.
This time it had failed as well, and yet it had let him glimpse the first light of victory.
He leapt out of the potted-plant world and came outside; walking out of the room, he saw green hills and clear waters, white clouds drifting lazy.
Dragon Qilin was lying in the shade of a tree, and Yan'er was feeding him bayberries. Shen Mu was startled.
When he had entered the pot, the bayberry had only just come into flower; it had still been the season of spring.
Now the bayberries were ripe — had half a year gone by?
He cast his gaze wide, and saw the whole hillside covered in ripened wild fruit, and no one to pick it.
"I am not the cleverest man under heaven.
Had I not the Immeasurable Kalpa Sutra, to comprehend this far would likely have cost me a hundred thousand years.
"
Shen Mu drew a few breaths of air; the air carried the fragrance of fruit. He did not disturb Yan'er and Dragon Qilin, but went back into the room, entered the pot, and continued his comprehension.
Dragon Qilin turned his head and looked at the house.
"The Cult Master has been inside a year and a half now, and still has not come out.
Is Heavenly Venerable Ling's divine ability truly so hard?
"