Chapter 15: Vajra Temple

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

[Congratulations, host! Your sign-in is successful. You have obtained the Spirit Cultivation Pill.]

‘Spirit Cultivation Pill?’ A large smile appeared on Su Qin’s face as he was extremely pleased.

The Spirit Cultivation Pill was an extremely special type of pill. It could not strengthen the physical body like the Essence Cleansing Pill nor increase the Internal Force like the Great Elixir Pill. The Spirit Cultivation Pill only had one function and that was to nurture and accumulate one’s spirit.

What was one’s spirit?

To Su Qin, it meant a person’s spiritual energy. When it came to martial arts, it was the intangible and nascent soul. 

A typical martial artist would usually not need to nurture their spirit if they were of the second rank. That was because most of the battles between martial artists involved the physical body and the clash of their Internal Force. As for their spirit, even a first-rank grandmaster would have had an extremely weak spirit within their bodies. 

However, if a first-rank grandmaster wanted to advance to the next level and achieve the Luohan status or step into the league of a Martial Arts Legend, they were to constantly nurture their spirit. 

The physical bodies of the martial artists of the Upper Realms were connected to heaven and earth. They were constantly being cleansed by the vitality of heaven and earth. Hence, they drew on the power of both heaven and earth.

As for the Martial Arts Legends, they had complete control of the force of heaven and earth and a single sweep of their arm was sufficient to destroy everything.

Being able to draw upon the power of heaven and earth versus being able to control the power of heaven and earth were two entirely different concepts. The latter was immeasurably stronger than the former. 

What did a martial artist rely on to control the power of heaven and earth? When faced with the immense power of heaven and earth, the physical body of a martial artist was insignificant. If one truly wished to have complete control over the power on earth, it required a sufficiently strong Spirit. The Luohan status had that and so did the Martial Arts Legends.

Su Qin obtained the Spirit Cultivation Pill which was the pill to nurture his Spirit. In that time and age, anything that had to do with one’s spirit was extremely rare and hard to come by. It was something two first-rank grandmasters would have found worth fighting for. Especially when the Spirit Cultivation Pill could directly nurture one’s Spirit.

‘Hold on. Once the Spirit Cultivation Pill’s consumed, I won’t be able to stop the process. If I were to be disturbed midway, the efficacy of the pill will drastically drop!’ thought Su Qin.

Since he had already endured ten years, he should have been able to wait two more days. Su Qin was a very patient person. If it was not for his patience, he would not have still been in the Shaolin temple, hoping that no other enemies would appear in the world after becoming a first-rank grandmaster.

Everything was silent late in the night. Su Qin quietly left the Miscellaneous Court and headed to a shabby secret chamber. The secret chamber was located underground and it was built by Su Qin for the past ten years.

Su Qin sat cross-legged and softly let out a sigh before he consumed the Spirit Cultivation Pill. 

Boom!

In that instant, Su Qin felt like he was soaking in a hot spring. His entire body felt like it was boiling and it felt extremely uncomfortable.

a

After countless hours, Su Qin slowly opened his eyes. 

Wow! 

A bolt of spectral lightning flashed within the secret chamber. 

Spectral Lightning! It was not real lightning but it was an unusual scene that was caused when one’s Spirit achieved a certain level of power.

‘A single Spirit Cultivation Pill managed to make my Spirit five times stronger,’ thought Su Qin as he nodded after he carefully examined himself.

Without the Spirit Cultivation Pill, it would have taken Su Qin at least five years to have reached that level of Spirit strength. A single Spirit Cultivation Pill saved Su Qin five years of intense training.

*****

At the same time, somewhere more than a thousand miles away from the Shaolin temple stood a majestic and solemn Buddhist temple. It was the Vajra temple which was also one of the great martial arts sects in the world.

However, compared to the Shaolin temple that was currently in decline, the Vajra temple was experiencing its golden age in that generation. The abbot of the Vajra temple at that time was a world-renowned first-rank Divine Master Abbot.

At that point, under the Gold Buddha enshrined in the Vajra temple, the abbot looked at a young monk who had a pious-looking face and said in a pleased tone, “Ba Tuo, you read all the manuals and scriptures of the Buddhist sect in the temple. There’s nothing else the Vajra temple can teach you. You should head out into the world.”

“Head north to the Shaolin temple of the north. It’s the top sect among the four great Buddhist martial arts sects and has the legacy of the Buddha Palm technique which was passed on directly from Buddha. Even though their power has declined over the past few years and the secret to the Buddha Palm technique is lost, their foundation is still deep and strong. You should go to the Shaolin temple because you’ll surely gain a lot from being there,” said the abbot slowly as he looked at Ba Tuo.

The Vajra temple abbot was a first-rank Divine Master abbot but when he stood next to the young monk, Ba Tuo, he seemed fairly ordinary. That was because Ba Tuo was an extremely special young monk.

Ba Tuo was born in a small village on the outskirts of the Vajra temple. When he was born, the entire village was filled with the faint sound of Buddhist chants. When Ba Tuo was three-years-old, he frequently sat facing the broken Buddha statue for the entire day. 

When the abbot of the Vajra temple discovered Ba Tuo, he was already twelve years old. As soon as the abbot discovered that Ba Tuo had an uncommon insight into Buddhism, he accepted Ba Tuo as a disciple of the Vajra temple. 

In a mere eight years, Ba Tuo managed to finish reading all the Buddhist scriptures and teachings within the Vajra temple. He also frequently engaged the eminent monks in the temple at debates and won more rounds than he lost.

Even the abbot himself lost to Ba Tuo before. It was unbelievable when you recall that the abbot is a first-rank Divine Master Abbot. How could a mere twenty-year-old monk catch up to him in terms of his understanding and comprehension of Buddhist concepts? If word of it spread, it would have surely shocked many people.

Besides that, Ba Tuo also had a frightening level of talent in the Buddhist sect martial arts style. Within the eight years that he had been a disciple at the Vajra temple, he already ascended to the Middle Realms. That fact made the abbot wonder if Ba Tuo was the reincarnation of one of the Luohans.

Hence, the Vajra temple abbot directly acknowledged Ba Tuo as the enlightened ones of the generation in the Vajra temple and also his successor as abbot.

“The Shaolin temple?” Ba Tuo raised his head to look directly at the abbot. His tone was filled with misgivings. 

“That’s right. The Shaolin temple.” The abbot nodded his head before he continued, “The Shaolin temple has a heritage of thousands of years. Many who have achieved Luohan status have come from the Shaolin temple. The depth of their foundation cannot be fathomed.” 

“You should head to the Shaolin temple and have discussions on Buddhist scriptures with the younger generation of disciples at the Shaolin temple while you bear the name of the Vajra temple.” A smile appeared on the face of the abbot. 

Every ten years, the four temples of the Buddhist sect interacted and had an exchange of ideas. That was known as the Buddhist Debate. The Shaolin temple was the greatest temple sect among the four. Hence, the Shaolin temple always had the upper hand in all the previous Buddhist Debates.

However, the Vajra temple abbot was extremely excited to see which disciple the Shaolin temple would have gone against Ba Tuo in the upcoming Buddhist Debate.

“Yes, abbot,” replied Ba Tuo with a bow. 

“Remember, even though the Buddhist sects strive to stay apart from worldly conflicts, this Buddhist Debate isn’t the same. The Buddhist Debate’s a battle of philosophy among the four Buddhist temple sects on earth. We must win, as there’s no room to lose,” reminded the abbot.

“I understand abbot.” Ba Tuo excused himself and started preparing for his trip to the Shaolin temple.

After Ba Tuo departed, the Vajra temple abbot smiled as he stood under the gold Buddha statue. It was because he knew that the Shaolin temple would have lost in the Buddhist Debate against the Vajra temple.