Chapter 753
: Slapping me wasn't enough, so I pulled out my gun!
The Medicine Buddha felt his Buddha-heart trembling violently, a primal, instinctive reaction to the fear of the unknown. The saying "the older a person gets, the more timid they become" applies equally to this ancient Buddha who had lived for countless millennia.
The longer one cultivates oneself and the higher one's position, the more afraid one is of losing what one has. The Medicine Buddha has worked so hard to reach his current position; how could he be willing to give it all up because of a few slaps?
"Enough... enough... let him slap me... let him slap me... anyway, I've already lost all face, it can't get any further. Once he's done slapping me and calmed down, this matter will be over... consider it taking the blame for my leader. After this beating, I can have something to say to Buddha later—Buddha, look at me, to prevent the tragedy of the Dragon Clan from repeating itself, I endured over three hundred slaps, my face is all swollen like a pig's head! This loyalty, this awareness of bearing humiliation, who else in the entire Western Paradise besides me, Medicine Buddha, has this?!"
Thinking of this, the Medicine Buddha felt a sense of tragic grandeur.
He straightened his back—though his face was almost unrecognizable from the slaps—and closed his eyes, which barely let in light, thinking: I've already taken it all. One slap or a hundred slaps, there's no real difference. Let them hit me, let them spin like a top, it's just a matter of swaying left and right, right? I've cultivated for countless millennia, what hardship haven't I endured? How could I possibly be brought to tears by a few slaps?
He stood there, letting Lin Zhu's slaps rhythmically land on his swollen cheeks, his body swaying from side to side with the force of the slaps, like a candied hawthorn skewer spinning at a steady pace on a bamboo stick, the crisp "slap slap" sounds creating an eerie rhythm in the valley.
Lin Zhu, however, suddenly stopped smoking.
Medicine Buddha felt the slaps on his face stop and was overjoyed, thinking that Lin Zhu had hit him enough. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he saw Lin Zhu looking down at his palms, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he was thinking about something.
Then, Lin Zhu spoke, her voice filled with a strange sense of grievance and displeasure.
"Not enough."
Medicine Buddha's heart skipped a beat! Not enough? What do you mean? What else do you want?!
Lin Zhu raised his hand and looked at his palm, where the skin was slightly red—not from being hit, but from the force of the blow, which had made his hand numb.
He blew on his palm, turned to look at the Medicine Buddha's face, whose features were no longer discernible, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
"I almost forgot."
His voice remained calm, but beneath that calmness emanated a chilling aura that sent shivers down one's spine.
"Last time you ambushed me at Five Elements Mountain, although the Glazed Illusionary Light did not harm me, it terrified my precious Pigsy... oh no, my close friend Pigsy."
He paused, his tone becoming more serious.
"More importantly, that illusory light almost damaged one of my... well, a very important magic treasure."
The Medicine Buddha struggled to open his swollen, slit-like eyes, wanting to say something but unable to utter a word.
Lin Zhu ignored him and continued talking to herself.
"That magical artifact is of extraordinary significance to me. Do you know how precious it is? Do you know what it means if it's damaged?"
His voice grew softer and softer, until it seemed as if he were talking to himself, but every word was crystal clear to everyone present.
"I am very angry."
"The consequences will be severe."
The moment he finished speaking, Lin Zhu made a grabbing motion in the air with his right hand!
In an instant, a terrifying aura that made the entire ruins of Five Elements Mountain tremble suddenly descended!
It was a long spear, entirely black, seemingly capable of devouring all light! Faint, blood-red patterns were wrapped around the spear, those patterns wriggling slowly as if alive, emanating an aura of annihilation that could wither all things and make the world lose its color!
Wherever the spear tip pointed, the void collapsed inch by inch, as if even the laws of heaven and earth trembled before this power!
God-Slaying Gun!
The number one killing weapon in the primordial world!
It specifically targets the divine soul! It specifically destroys merit! It specifically kills all beings that claim to be immortal and indestructible!
The moment Sun Wukong saw the spear, all the fur on his body stood on end! He instinctively took a half step back, his fiery eyes filled with terror! When he wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace back then, he thought he had seen the most terrifying things in the Three Realms, but now, facing this spear, his blood seemed to freeze!
Guanyin Bodhisattva's delicate body trembled violently! Although she had long known that Lin Zhu possessed the God-Slaying Spear, every time she saw this spear appear, she felt a tremor from the depths of her soul! That was the Buddha's instinctive fear of the power to slay gods!
And the Medicine Buddha...
The moment Medicine Buddha saw the God-Slaying Spear, he froze on the spot as if he had been frozen in place! In the slits of his swollen eyes, true and undisguised fear finally shone through!
He recognized him!
God-Slaying Gun!
That legendary, terrifying weapon that once killed a saint!
That forbidden existence that even Buddha himself feared and repeatedly warned against provoking at the Vulture Peak Conference!
In the Medicine Buddha's mind, the words the Tathagata had spoken on Vulture Peak flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern—
"Throughout the Three Realms, there are many Dharma treasures, but those that can truly threaten the Buddha's life and death are few and far between."
"The most dangerous thing to deal with is a black spear."
"Its name is unknown, its origin is unknown, but I... but I can tell you, this spear once killed a saint."
"Whoever wields this spear is an enemy that cannot be fought against in the Three Realms."
"Remember this, remember this."
Medicine Buddha once thought that it was just Tathagata exaggerating to scare people, but now, when he was really facing the God-Slaying Spear, he finally understood that every word Tathagata said was true!
The aura of annihilation emanating from that gun was enough to make the soul of any living being tremble! It was no ordinary killing weapon; it was an ultimate weapon forged specifically to target the divine soul, merit, and all immortal beings!
The Medicine Buddha's indestructible golden body made of lapis lazuli is a complete joke in front of this spear!
Kill his merits! Destroy his soul! Make his millennia of cultivation vanish into nothing!
He had tried to escape—yes, he had actually been secretly preparing an escape technique when he was slapped. But now, facing the God-Slaying Spear, the annihilating aura that had locked onto his Buddha soul made him instantly realize: there was no escape.
There's absolutely no way to escape!
When the Medicine Buddha saw Lin Zhu pull out the God-Slaying Spear, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in shock. The jet-black spear was casually held in Lin Zhu's hand, and the blood-red patterns wrapped around the spear shaft slowly writhed as if they were alive, emanating an aura of annihilation that caused the surrounding void to begin to collapse inch by inch.
Wherever the spear tip pointed, the laws of heaven and earth seemed to groan in despair. The terrifying killing intent that specifically restrained the soul, destroyed merit, and killed all beings that claimed to be immortal and indestructible pressed down on the Medicine Buddha's heart as if it were a tangible substance.
The Medicine Buddha's eyes, which had been swollen into two thin slits, were now wide open, the shadow of the God-Slaying Spear reflected in his glassy pupils. He was frozen in place as if he had been subjected to a spell.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind—he knew all too well the origin of this spear! Back at the Vulture Peak assembly, the Buddha had specifically summoned the high-ranking officials of the Western Paradise and solemnly warned them: There are several things in the Three Realms that must never be touched, and the number one of them is this jet-black spear! The Buddha had made it clear then that this spear had once killed a saint, and whoever wielded it was an enemy that no one in the Three Realms could oppose. At that time, the Medicine Buddha thought the Buddha was exaggerating, using it to deter them, the Buddhas, from causing trouble. But now, truly facing the god-slaying spear, he finally understood—
Every word spoken by the Buddha is true!
The aura emanating from that spear was far beyond anything ordinary killing magic weapons could match. It was an aura of annihilation that made even the soul tremble, as if if the very tip of that spear touched him, his indestructible golden body, cultivated for countless years, would be shattered like a joke, and his merits, his soul, everything he had would be completely obliterated in an instant!
Even more critically, the Medicine Buddha remembered something else—Maitreya Buddha's severed arm.
When Maitreya Buddha fought with a mysterious being in Heaven, he returned with his entire right arm gone. The wound was shrouded in a strange aura of annihilation that could not be dispelled by any elixirs or supernatural powers. It took tens of thousands of years for it to barely recover.
Rumors circulated among the high-ranking officials of the Western Paradise that Maitreya Buddha was injured by the God-Slaying Spear. Maitreya Buddha himself remained silent about the matter, but whenever someone mentioned the words "God-Slaying Spear," his newly grown arm would tremble involuntarily.
What kind of being is Maitreya Buddha? He is one of the top Buddhas in the Western Paradise, whose cultivation is even higher than that of Medicine Buddha! Even Maitreya Buddha had his arm broken by the God-Slaying Spear and it took him tens of thousands of years to recover. If I were to be stabbed by it, my fate would definitely be terrible!
The Medicine Buddha's heart trembled violently. Although he was afraid when Lin Zhu slapped him earlier, it was merely physical pain and a loss of face, not a fundamental injury. But now it was different. The gun Lin Zhu pulled out was something that could truly kill him!
"A few slaps are one thing, but you actually pulled out a gun?"
The Medicine Buddha roared inwardly, the swelling on his face seemingly less painful now, for the fear brought by the God-Slaying Spear had completely overwhelmed everything else. He looked at Lin Zhu's expressionless face, at those indifferent eyes devoid of any warmth, and finally confirmed one fact—
This guy is serious!
He wasn't bluffing; he really dared to stab!
Moreover, given the current situation in the Western Paradise, after this incident, it's unlikely that anyone can get justice for him!
The Medicine Buddha recalled the roar of the Buddha before his avatar dissipated, the hesitant attitude of Guanyin Bodhisattva, the tragic scene of the Western Paradise being besieged by the Dragon Clan, and Maitreya Buddha's still throbbing severed arm... All the clues connected, converging in his already dazed mind into one conclusion—
Can't afford it!
Absolutely not someone to mess with!
This Lin Zhu is either a peerless master who has hidden his cultivation, or he has a terrifying backer that the entire Western Paradise cannot afford to offend. In either case, Medicine Buddha does not want to be cannon fodder to test the waters!
Having thought this through, the Medicine Buddha no longer hesitated. He took a deep breath, and his body suddenly erupted with a dazzling Buddhist light, not as an attack, but as a brilliant pillar of light that shot into the sky!
"Lin Zhu!"
The voice of the Medicine Buddha emanated from the pillar of light, trembling with a hint of bravado masking underlying fear, and a fierce intensity that was barely concealed.
"You...you've got guts! You just wait!"
Before he finished speaking, the beam of glazed light streaked across the sky like a meteor, fleeing madly westward! Its speed was so great that even the void itself was torn open with a long rift, showing just how fast the Medicine Buddha was escaping!
Lin Zhu stood still, still gripping the God-Slaying Spear, the aura of annihilation emanating from its tip slowly receding. He stared in the direction the Medicine Buddha had fled, his face filled with disdain.
"You run pretty fast."
Lin Zhu curled his lip and casually put away the God-Slaying Spear. That primordial supreme killing weapon that had terrified the Medicine Buddha was now as ordinary as a fire poker in his hands, disappearing with a casual toss.
"It's just a few slaps, why are you running like this?"
Lin Zhu looked down at her swollen palm. Her palms were covered with obvious red marks from the force of the slap, and they felt slightly numb.
He shook his head with some heartache, blew on his palms, and muttered to himself, "Hitting people is hard work, my hands are all swollen. I'll have to ask the Western Paradise to reimburse my medical expenses later."
Sun Wukong stood not far away, his monkey face filled with two words—dullness.
His golden cudgel was still held against Tang Sanzang's neck, but he was completely dumbfounded.
From the moment Lin Zhu started slapping Medicine Buddha, to Medicine Buddha being spun around like a top, to Lin Zhu pulling out the God-Slaying Spear, and finally to Medicine Buddha running away in a panic, the whole process, though seemingly long, actually only took a few moments.
Sun Wukong's fiery eyes were wide open to the extreme, and his thoughts were swirling together like a mushy mess.
"What did I just see? The Buddha of the Eastern Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli was slapped countless times in public by Immortal Lin, his face was beaten into a pig's head, and he didn't even dare to fight back? In the end, he was so frightened by a spear that he turned and ran away? Is this still the Buddha who was high above all beings at the Vulture Peak assembly, looking down on them?"
Sun Wukong's Adam's apple bobbed, and a deeper layer of awe crept into his gaze towards Lin Zhu. He had been imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain for five hundred years, and his memory of the majesty of the Buddhas of the Western Paradise was still vivid; he knew how unapproachable these Buddhas were. But now, a living Buddha was being whipped into a spinning top by Lin Zhu right before his eyes, and then, terrified, turned and ran away. The impact of this scene on him was far greater than when he had been imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain by the Buddha!
"Brother Zhu Ganglie is right... Old Lin—no, Immortal Lord Lin, he is indeed no ordinary person."
With the golden cudgel held to his neck, Tang Sanzang was unable to move, but he had seen everything that had just happened.
At this moment, the holy monk, the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi, had a similarly fascinating expression on his face—shock, bewilderment, disbelief, and a mix of emotions that etched complex wrinkles onto his handsome monk face.
'The Medicine Buddha…that's the leader of the Eastern Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli, a Buddha of great stature in the Western Paradise, yet he was beaten so badly in public by this Benefactor Lin, and didn't even dare to retaliate? Just who is this Benefactor Lin?' (End of Chapter)