Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 485 One Thousand and Three Palms
"What?!" Not only Fa Xiu, but even Wu Gu exclaimed in surprise, "Wasn't it already three blows?"

“The last two strikes are the Shattered Star Double Wave, which counts as one palm strike,” Wu Yang said without changing his expression.

"You're cheating!" Fa Xiu stomped her feet in anger.

"Say what you will," Wu Yang said calmly. "I set the rules. If I say it counts as one strike, then it counts as one strike. If you're not convinced, we can have a one-on-one fight."

"You shameless person!" Fa Xiu was so angry that his nose was crooked, but he would never dare to fight one-on-one.

"Disciple, step aside," Bodhidharma said slowly, though his voice trembled slightly.

"Don't force yourself, He's cheating on you!" Fa Xiu said anxiously, "What if He says he doesn't count after striking again?"

"Then beat him until he's satisfied." Bodhidharma smiled faintly and pushed Faxiu aside with a flick of his sleeve.

"Take this final blow from me!" A seven-colored vortex rose around Wu Yang, and the entire world began to twist and deform, revealing a divine body a thousand feet tall—that body had a thousand eyes and a thousand arms, with a pupil in the palm of each hand, and each pupil flowing with a different dream world.

Bodhidharma also dared not be negligent in the slightest, and he also manifested the golden body of a Bodhisattva, with twelve kinds of pure white lotuses growing beneath his body, auspicious clouds gathering above his head, and a golden wheel shining behind his head!
"Bodhidharma, since you do not understand the wonders of life, you have entered my boundless dream prison!" Wu Yang's Dharma form opened its thousand eyes in anger, and its thousand arms stirred the void at the same time, slamming down on Bodhidharma! Thousands of dreams collapsed with a bang, turning into a black torrent carrying obsessions and inner demons, surging and sweeping towards Bodhidharma.

"You're cheating!" Fa Xiu, who was watching the fight, jumped up and down. "That was a thousand blows!"

Wu Yang ignored him completely, and only sneered at Bodhidharma: "Aren't you supposed to be a master of Buddhism? Let's see how you see through the delusion of these sentient beings!"

Countless chains, formed from love, hate, anger, and delusion, coiled around the golden body of Bodhidharma like a giant python.

Bodhidharma was surrounded by a great golden light, formed the swastika symbol, and chanted the true scriptures, trying to dispel the dream calamity that covered the sky and the sun.

But each chain of the Dream God is engraved with the greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt of the beings in that realm, so how could it be easily broken?
The most terrifying chain was formed from the fervent prayers of countless believers for the Pure Land, which would drag Bodhidharma into an endless cycle of reincarnation where "compassionate vows imprison his golden body, and the Buddha cannot find peace until all sentient beings are satisfied."

Bodhidharma, whose body was bathed in golden light, dimmed like a candle under the heavy chains binding him. His lotus platform and golden body crumbled inch by inch, the auspicious clouds above his head dissipated, and his flesh and blood withered and turned to ash under the endless dream tribulations, revealing sections of golden bones.

Soon he became a golden skeleton, but his heart was still beating strongly, and he remained in the cross-legged sitting position.

"A Buddha's bones and a Bodhisattva's countenance!" Wu Gu couldn't help but exclaim. "This monk is truly accomplished; he's about to become a Buddha, yet he dares to wade into this muddy water."

"If He meets me, He will never become a Buddha!" ​​Wu Yang sneered, and with all his might, he tried to crush Bodhidharma's Buddha bones.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, Bodhidharma's eye sockets lit up, radiating a light of great compassion. He formed the 'Self-Sacrifice Mudra' with his hands, a mudra never before seen in the world, allowing the chains of the dream to completely devour the Buddha's relics.

In the instant the heavens and earth were annihilated, his final verse could be heard piercing through the void:
"If I don't go to hell, who will?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yang's expression changed drastically, and he sighed, "You're quite something."

Then, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared in the black hole bound by countless chains. As the light faded, a lotus seed was revealed.

The lotus seeds quickly sprouted and grew into lotus leaves.

"Not only will you enter hell, but you will dwell there forever!" Bodhidharma's solemn Buddhist voice continued to resound in the air.

From within the lotus leaf, a pink lotus flower quickly emerged. As the lotus rapidly swelled and bloomed, Bodhidharma appeared, perfectly unharmed, seated cross-legged on the lotus platform, proclaiming in a clear voice:

"Not only does it exist in the permanent hell, but it also adorns the hell..."

"Is it really necessary?" Wu Yang asked, bewildered. "By making such a grand vow, you are destined never to reach paradise in this lifetime."

Although he was a fake Buddhist, he knew Buddhism very well. He had heard that Buddhism had the supernatural power of exchanging great vows for great spiritual power. However, making a vow is easy, but fulfilling it is difficult. Often, a moment of pleasure is exchanged for a lifetime of suffering, let alone such a great vow as to reside permanently in hell and solemnize hell. That would truly cost him countless lifetimes.

"Everyone says the Western Paradise is wonderful, but most people still end up in hell." Bodhidharma said solemnly, "I can become a Buddha without going to the Western Paradise!"

"You win. Let's go." Wu Yang said with a dark face, leading the Fifth Divine General away in a huff.

"Alas, why bother?" the witch sighed.

"All things are impermanent, and all life is suffering," Bodhidharma solemnly proclaimed, chanting a Buddhist mantra.

"Very well, I underestimated Buddhism before..." Wu Gu exclaimed in admiration, then instructed Fa Xiu, "Send the Buddha to the West, you must personally escort them back to Daliang, otherwise we will not recognize them."

“Yes, that’s natural.” Fa Xiu nodded quickly, looking at the God of Divination who looked exactly like Sister Lingzhi.

"I'm leaving." The witch stretched and rode away on a cloud.

After the two gods left, Bodhidharma, who had been holding on, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his whole body looking weak and his face as pale as paper.

"Master!" Faxiu quickly helped Bodhidharma up.

"I'm alright," Bodhidharma said, spitting out another mouthful of blood. He smiled bitterly and said, "Alright, this is going to kill me."

"Waaah, are you going to die?" Fa Xiu asked, her eyes red and swollen.

"How can you talk like that, child?" Bodhidharma glared at him and said, "Don't worry, Master's great vow is not in vain. It will at least bring seven years of lifespan."

"And what about seven years from now?" Fa Xiu asked, her voice trembling with tears.

“Of course, it’s hell,” Bodhidharma laughed. “Heaven doesn’t allow you to renege on your promises.”

"Waaah, Master, do you have to work so hard?" Fa Xiu cried her heart out.

"How was I supposed to know that bastard? He said he'd hit me three times, but he hit me a thousand and three times?!" Bodhidharma cursed. "All the bones in my body have been shattered. It hurts like hell."

"That's right, I've never seen such a shameless god before," Fa Xiu said angrily.

"Therefore, we must stop Him. If He becomes a god-king, China will be plunged into an eternal nightmare." Bodhidharma sighed, "Just like my homeland..."

“Master, He is so powerful, can we do it?” Fa Xiu Baba asked.

“It can definitely happen,” Bodhidharma said solemnly, but as a monk, he did not lie, and then sighed and said, “Of course, a miracle is needed.”

"Then let's create a miracle." With that, he drew the Nanming Li Huo Sword and tossed it to Fa Xiu.

"Me?" Fa Xiu held a sword in one hand and pointed to his nose with the other, incredulous.

“Do what you’re supposed to do, and miracles will happen.” Bodhidharma waved his hand and said, “Go on, your friends are waiting for you.”

"Yes, Master." Faxiu, with his sword on his back, clasped his hands together and said with teary eyes, "Please take care of yourself, Master."

“You’re such a big child, why are you still crying?” Bodhidharma smiled kindly. “Don’t worry, you’re not my only disciple.”

(End of this chapter)