“You wanna see whether I dare to or not?” Li Qingshan sneered.
The Sangharama God shuddered inside. This kid actually felt no reverence at all. The Sangharama God could not help but ask, “Do you understand exactly what this Great Thunderclap temple and this statue of Tathāgata signifies?”
Li Qingshan glanced over and answered calmly, “It’s all but a damned temple, a statue of mud.”
The Great Thunderclap temple was indeed in ruins, but compared to its usual solemnity and emptiness, it was covered in trees and shrubs, which instead made it seem like it was teeming with life.
The brilliant moon hung in the sky, sprinkling with clear light. The bodhisattvas and arhats were covered in vines, sitting quietly in the speckled light as if they also possessed the emotions of mortals.
Only the statue of Tathāgata under Li Qingshan’s control seemed to smile away, devoid of any joy or sorrow.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
He tapped the statue of the buddha. “I’m wrong. It’s not mud, but gold. However, to the likes of us, there is no difference between mud and gold…”
“I see, I see…”
The Sangharama God’s fury turned into understanding. He was not intentionally slandering buddhism, but speaking his mind.
This attitude- this attitude was far too familiar!
Beyond the vast ocean, a pair of scarlet and golden eyes silently watched all of this, rolling around in laughter. “Old codger Tathāgata, to think you would have a day like this! This kid is far too interesting! Fascinating, how fascinating!”
This kid is even more dangerous than the wicked demons of the Demon domain! I can’t let him leave here alive!
The Sangharama God suddenly made up his mind. He brought his palms together again and bowed towards the air. “Great teacher, please forgive my uselessness, failing to protect the three jewels…”
“Hold on! I didn’t actually mean that. You don’t actually have to take it so seriously.”
Li Qingshan’s face stiffened. He could already guess what the Sangharama God would say next before launching another strike. You’re the protector god of buddhism, so where’s the faith you promised to show?
The Upraised Light abbot had no idea how to respond. He sank into his thoughts again. “A damned temple, a statue of mud?”
Before the Sangharama God could throw himself at him, Li Qingshan clutched the buddha statue firmly with both arms and twisted his waist, throwing it forcefully. “Off you go!”
Swish! The statue of Tathāgata shot into the sky, right past the Sangharama God. If he was not watching the entire situation carefully, he basically would have thought the buddha had manifested in person.
At the same time, Li Qingshan grabbed the Upraised Light abbot and kicked his legs, rising up into the air. As soon as he leapt off the cliff, he unfurled his wings and whistled off.
The Sangharama God flew up and cupped the buddha statue in his hands. He could not help but let out a sigh of relief. He had already made up his mind about this, but it was still best if the buddha statue remained undamaged.
His gaze was like lightning, sweeping over coldly. “Wretched animal, your time is up!”
Li Qingshan felt a chill run down his spine. He shivered and looked back.
The Sangharama God descended from above and returned the buddha statue to the grand hall respectfully. He was in no hurry at all. He could cover this bit of distance in an instant. How could a guardian be faster than a true god? Speaking of which, this was Sukhāvatī, so where could he run off to?
He was a sitting duck within arm’s reach, unable to escape death!
Li Qingshan was aware of that too. Wickness rose up from the heart and so did fury. He suddenly stopped, turning around to face the spiritual mountain under the cold moon. He wrinkled his nose and widened his eyes, demonstrating the vicious face of a tiger.
“Wretched animal! Wretched animal! Have you called me that enough yet!?”
Surprise flashed through the Sangharama God’s eyes. This kid surprised him with every passing moment. Under the pressure of his divine might, he actually still had the courage to stop and face him. This courage, this daringness, was not something a sangharama guardian should have possessed.
It made him even more determined to kill him. If he did not die here today, he would definitely become a huge problem in the future.
He pointed at Li Qingshan, “So what about it, wretched animal?”
“You’ll find out!”
Li Qingshan reached into his clothes and grabbed the Mountain-moving tablet, swinging it towards the spiritual mountain.
At that instant, a huge rumble rang through the world. Under the cold moon, the spiritual mountain actually tipped slowly, falling towards the Sangharama God.
The Sangharama God was dumbstruck. “No, that’s impossible! That’s completely impossible! How can a mere guardian possess such power?”
“You can pray again now.” Li Qingshan sneered, copying the Sangharama God’s voice. “Please forgive my uselessness, even failing to protect the Great Thunderclap temple. Boohoohoo! Hahahaha!”
The Sangharama God just watched as the mountain fell towards him. If he tried to dodge, he could obviously avoid it, except that was the spiritual mountain!
Protecting this Nālandā temple had once been his first order. Every single tile and brick, blade of grass and tree, carried great wishes and glory. It was not something that an outsider could understand.
He let out a furious bellow. Not only did he stay put, but he even spread his arms, using his chest to block the tipping mountain forcefully, using all of his divine strength to hold up the spiritual mountain.
The Upraised Light abbot watched on blankly. Suddenly, tears began to roll down his cheeks uncontrollably. He extended his hand as if he wanted to lend a hand to the Sangharama God!
Rumble! Under the collision and crushing of the two forces, countless buildings collapsed. The statues and murals shattered to pieces.
Veins popped on the Sangharama God’s forehead as his muscles rippled, forcefully stopping the spiritual mountain. He tried to straighten it out again, but he destroyed even more buildings.
He was outraged, grinding his teeth. “Li- Qing- Shan!”
The Lion’s Roar was already filled with a sense of violence and malice now.
Li Qingshan was blown far away. His bones cracked all over, covered with fractures. He spat out some blood to the side. “Very good. You’ve finally remembered my name!” It set off his viciousness even more. “Even if I die here today, I’ll have you know what pain is!”
Earth, fire, wind, and fire, the ox, tiger, qilin, and turtle, the small world revolved at full speed. Li Qingshan poured all of his power into the Mountain-moving tablet before swinging it viciously at the spiritual mountain. “Fall!”
Under the order, the spiritual mountain continued to tip, and the Sangharama God gradually gave way. He widened his eyes in despair. In a daze, he saw a colossal figure behind Li Qingshan, gazing at him with its orangey-yellow, tiger-like eyes.
“The Mountain-moving Great Sage!”
In the distant land beyond the ocean, the scarlet and golden eyes blinked. “Foolish lion…” He unconsciously stopped smiling. “Fourth brother…”
The Upraised Light abbot could no longer stand it anymore. He called out, “Li Qingshan, stop! Stop right now! If this continues, it’ll all be destroyed! It’ll all be destroyed!” He covered his face and wept. Before he knew it, he had already become as old as when Li Qingshan had first met him.
Li Qingshan released him. “Monk, I’ll hold him off here. You go! Spread the truth that you discovered here and at least we wouldn’t have made our trip in vain!”
He was not sure what the Upraised Light abbot had discovered from the Great Thunderclap temple that had made him waver so much, but in short, it probably was not beneficial to buddhism.
“No, I can’t!” The Upraised Light abbot was fearful and uneasy.
Li Qingshan stared at him. “Then kill me! If you want to protect the spiritual mountain and protect buddhism, that is the easiest way.” He was channelling all of his powers into the Mountain-moving tablet right now, so he could not resist at all.
“I can’t.” The Upraised Light abbot shook his head.
“Sigh, why must you make things so difficult for yourself?”
Li Qingshan suddenly took a step forward and pressed the Mountain-moving tablet down inch by inch, resolutely contending against a god!
Under the pressure of the two divine forces, the spiritual mountain gradually fragmented, collapsing with a rumble.
The Sangharama God roared furiously and refused to give up. He was swallowed by the several million tonnes of earth.
The spiritual mountain collapsed.
The great halls, treasured buildings, and bell towers;
The heavenly maidens, the dragons and elephants, and the scriptures;
The bodhisattvas, the arhats, and the wisdom kings;
Dust returned to dust, and earth returned to earth.
