Japanese Terrorist: What? I'll fight Hellstar!

Beneath the Bodhi tree, all was silent except for the rustling of the wind through the leaves and the increasingly heavy breathing.

"ah--!!!"

A piercing, shrill scream shattered the deathly silence, as if a switch had been flipped.

"No...that's not it! This isn't me!"

"Don't look at me like that!"

Tomie, straddling Amamiya Rin's lap, loosened her arms from his grasp and frantically clawed at her melting cheeks, her fingertips digging deep into the soft, writhing flesh, squeezing out sticky, rotten flesh.

As if about to give birth, Tomie roared hysterically. She turned around, trying to hide her split abdomen, but her back muscles suddenly split open, and more proliferating granulation tissue squeezed out from the crack in her spine, sliding down like strange insect eggs.

Panic and anger spread among them like a plague; the Tomies, their faces contorted with madness, let out screams of utter despair.

The alluring demeanor of before was completely gone, and the previous charm and grace were no more. In those pupils, which were filled with the whites of their eyes, their broken appearances were reflected, as well as Amamiya Rin's calm, almost cruel eyes.

He remained seated, like a Bodhi tree rooted in the heart of the earth, his clear gaze like a mirror, clearly reflecting their current disheveled, deformed, and frantic state.

This calm gaze was more unbearable for Tomie than any mockery or angry outburst.

They can accept killing, dismemberment, and the extremes of men's love turned to hate, but they cannot bear being watched in this ugly and unbearable state by a man they are trying to conquer.

The immense sense of disillusionment tore apart their vain and arrogant hearts; the game of seduction turned into a public execution; the carefully crafted alluring atmosphere vanished, leaving only their unwillingness to confront their true nature.

"Those who seek me through sound or physical form are following a false path and cannot see the Tathagata."

Beneath the Bodhi tree, Yu Gonglin stood tall and straight, seemingly one with the ancient giant tree. A gardenia bloomed between his fingers, emitting a hazy light that enveloped his serene face in a sacred atmosphere.

"Enough! Shut up!!"

"I won't listen! I won't listen!"

"You monster!!"

Faced with Amamiya Rin's gaze and hearing his voice, Tomie and the others, like vampires scorched by the sun, struggled to their feet from the ground entangled with Bodhi tree roots, stumbling and fleeing in panic toward the mountain gate.

Amamiya Rin remained seated under the Bodhi tree, his serene and tranquil aura growing ever more profound. With a single thought, almost in the blink of an eye, Tomie and the others, who had just fled in disarray, reappeared under the Bodhi tree, all of them present!

The fear and disgust still lingered on their faces, and they seemed bewildered as to why they had returned.

"What's going on?!"

"We've already..."

"He's behind this?!"

A surprised and uncertain voice rang out, and Tomie and the others looked at Amamiya Rin, instinctively turning around again to flee.

However, something strange happened.

No matter how fast they run or how far they go.

The next moment, their figures would always seem to be pulled by invisible threads, instantly returning to the giant Bodhi tree, back to Yu Gonglin's gaze.

The space seemed to form a closed-loop maze here, and at the center, there was only Amamiya Rin and the Bodhi tree beneath him.

During the eight years of training, Tomie and the others used their time to torment Amamiya Rin, while Amamiya Rin used his time to accept the trials and tribulations of Tomie and the others, meditate to calm his mind, and cultivate a higher state of mind.

In response to the interference with dreams, Amamiya Rin is already above Tomie.

"Shariputra! Form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Sensation, perception, volition, and consciousness are also like this."

Amamiya Rin recited the true words from the Heart Sutra, his gaze calmly sweeping over the distorted figures.

"You are attached to physical appearance, thinking yourselves to be the most beautiful among all women, but you do not know that this physical body is merely a temporary combination of causes and conditions. When you are beautiful, you become arrogant and proud; when you are ugly, you become fearful and insane. Your mind follows the environment, you are drowning in the sea of ​​suffering and cannot be free."

As the scriptures were recited, the branches and leaves of the Bodhi tree rustled without wind, making a pleasant sound, as if in response.

Beneath the tree, tiny golden lotus phantoms appeared from the void, swirling and vanishing, enveloping the temple in a peaceful, serene, and magnificent aura.

"Shariputra! All dharmas are empty in nature; they are neither produced nor destroyed, neither defiled nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing. Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, no sensation, no perception, no volition, no consciousness; no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind; no form, sound, smell, taste, touch, dharma..."

"Stop reading! Stop reading!"

"Shut up! You're so annoying!"

"Shut up! Who wants to listen to your nonsense!"

"Do you want to illegally imprison me, Amamiya Rin!"

……

Tomie and the others had ferocious expressions, their twisted faces filled with disgust and impatience.

Sharp screams and cacophony seemed to be trying to drown out the scriptures that were disturbing them.

Some of Tomie angrily ripped off her bra and threw it at Amamiya Rin, but just as it was about to reach her, it vanished quietly like ripples on still water, without even causing a ripple.

As the scriptures flowed, the branches and leaves of the Bodhi tree grew ever greener, and the fleeting golden lotuses gradually solidified, blooming quietly one after another, emitting a pure sandalwood fragrance.

Tiny specks of light gathered like fireflies, or fell like flowers from the sky, scattering and drifting, without touching anything.

"The appearance of self, the appearance of others, the appearance of all sentient beings, and the appearance of lifespan."

Amamiya Rin seemed oblivious to Tomie and the others' resistance, her voice like a babbling brook, echoing around the Bodhi tree.

"You fight, envy, and claim to be the only one, believing that there is only one 'Tomie' and everyone else is an imposter. This is the 'I' mentality. The distinction between 'you' and 'me' is the 'human' mentality. Seeing many of your kind and feeling hatred or love is the 'sentient being' mentality. Desiring to maintain beauty forever is the 'longevity' mentality. If these four mentalityes are not broken, you will be forever trapped in the cycle of afflictions."

"I can do whatever I want! What's it to you?"

"So annoying! So annoying! What do you mean by 'I' and 'he'? I am who I am! There's only one Kawakami Tomie! It's me!"

Tomie and the others screamed and made a huge fuss, not taking a single word to heart.

However, their protests and struggles seemed pale and powerless in the face of Amamiya Rin.

Amamiya Rin simply recited the scriptures calmly. These scriptures were not only for Tomie and the others, but he also wanted to leave an impression of meditation and breaking free from attachments in their minds. Most importantly, he wanted to cultivate himself.

He has already practiced three of the six subtle gates: counting, following, stopping, observing, returning, and purifying, and has achieved meditative concentration. The latter three gates are the gates of wisdom. He intends to use the Heart Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, and the White Bone Contemplation to analyze the body and mind and realize the wisdom of emptiness.

The sun rises and sets, the stars shift and the constellations move.

In this Bodhi monastery, formed from the thoughts of Amamiya Rin, time loses its external meaning.

With unwavering resolve, Yu Gonglin recited and contemplated the essence of the Heart Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, and the White Bone Contemplation time and time again. In the blink of an eye, two years had passed.

The Bodhi tree remained evergreen, and Yu Gonglin sat beneath it, his aura serene and clear.

The dozens of once arrogant Tomies who used to surround him are no longer the same as before.

"Stop chanting... Master, please stop chanting..."

My brain is about to break down...

"Forgive us..."

They all looked listless, their eyes unfocused. Their once bright and sparkling eyes had lost their luster, leaving only deep weariness and confusion.

Although those deformed limbs have long since returned to normal human form, the domineering and bewitching charm they once possessed has faded and lost its luster, like ashes completely extinguished by rain.

Tomie just sat there blankly, occasionally letting out a few dreamlike sounds during the breaks in Amamiya Rin's chanting, but she didn't even have the strength to cover her ears.

On this day, Yu Gonglin suddenly had a feeling.

He stopped chanting the sutra, his clear gaze sweeping over the Tomies before him, whom he had forcibly converted using Buddhist teachings for three years.

"It's time to wake up from this dream."

He spoke softly, as if in a sigh.

The next moment, the surrounding Bodhi trees and mountain scenery began to ripple like water, and finally shattered completely.

When Amamiya Rin's vision cleared again, what came into view was the simple wooden ceiling of the Ghost Cry Temple guest room.

Outside the window, the sky was just beginning to lighten; it was dawn.

Amamiya Rin slowly straightened up, her body still weak, the soreness from being bedridden for so long had not disappeared.

However, his eyes looked completely different from when he fell asleep.

There was no longer any anxiety or unease; instead, there was a deep, still tranquility.

Ten years of dream-based spiritual practice seemed to have re-tempered his soul.

He gently moved his fingers, feeling the tactile sensation of the real world.

No longer are there any noisy complaints, curses, or pleas in my mind. The mental network that was once filled with the distracting thoughts of Tomie and her ilk is now completely silent.

It wasn't that the connection was broken, but rather that the owners of those voices seemed to have fallen into some kind of silence.

Eight years of protracted conflict and two years of trials have inflicted extremely severe trauma on Tomie and her ilk.

Amamiya Rin propped herself up and sat up, holding onto the bed frame as she stood up beside the bed.

His movements were smoother than before he fell asleep, not because of a recovery of physical strength, but because of a reduction in stiffness, as if a little lubrication had been injected into his rusty joints.

Amamiya Rin habitually practiced breathing in the way she had cultivated in her dreams for ten years; it had become second nature to her.

Inhale deeply and steadily, letting the breath sink into your abdomen, causing your diaphragm to naturally descend.

Exhale slowly and thoroughly, expelling all the stale air from your chest and abdomen.

After more than a dozen cycles, he keenly noticed some changes inside his body.

The chest tightness and shortness of breath that I used to experience due to prolonged bed rest have been greatly relieved at this moment.

Each breath was exceptionally full, as if my lungs were being completely opened up.

When you exhale, it feels as if the stale air in your body is being expelled.

Moreover, the symptoms of waking up in a daze and not being able to remember what happened the day before have been greatly reduced. He not only did not feel dizzy, but he also remembered that he had a dream for 10 years and that he was practicing with the abbot of Ghost Cry before falling asleep.

Moreover, his muscles were still sore and weak, but the palpitations caused by weakness and overexertion did not come immediately as usual.

Even his hands and feet were no longer as cold as usual; with his even breathing, he felt a slight warmth emanating from his fingertips.

Amamiya Rin tried to move her fingers. The movements were slow, but she no longer felt the disconnect between her mind and body. Her body would move immediately when she thought of something, but because her physical condition was too poor, she could not move very fast.

"Is this... the effect of the breathing technique?"

Amamiya Rin muttered to herself, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

While not as dramatic as Ripple Breathing or Demon Slayer Breathing, it does have a noticeable effect.

Amamiya Rin closed his eyes, counted his breaths, followed his breaths, and stopped his breaths. In the blink of an eye, he entered a meditative state.

In this tranquility, he began to try observing the gate.

The mind acts like an invisible scanner, slowly ascending from the feet.

Prolonged bed rest and weakness lead to muscle atrophy and weakness, and sluggish blood circulation.

He could vaguely feel a distinct blockage and soreness in his left arm, an area where the meridians were blocked and nerve signals were not transmitting smoothly; there was a rough, frictional feeling in his knee joint, like a part that lacked lubrication...

These perceptions are neither visual nor simply tactile, but rather a kind of introspection based on extreme self-awareness, a subtle connection between the mind and body after the concentration is enhanced.

In scientific terms, the somatosensory cortex of the cerebral cortex is enhanced through meditation.

He meditated for 10 years in his dream, and his brain also became active, achieving a decade of evolution overnight!

In this light, the protagonist of "The Long Dream" lived for a thousand years in one night before his body turned to ashes... The physical abilities of the humans in this world are indeed different from those in his previous life.

Amamiya Rin tried to exert a little force, and under the Guanmen's sensing, she felt a soreness in her forearm, as if the muscle fibers were twisting together and resisting the command.

At the same time, the skin also had a lingering coolness, which was incongruous with the warmth of the surrounding tissues.

(This is the main obstacle.)

He made a clear judgment in his mind, and his focus was highly concentrated. He activated similar neural circuits in the motor cortex of his brain. In a daze, Amamiya Rin sensed a command being issued from his brain, transmitted down along some invisible path, through his neck, through his shoulder, and to his forearm.

He repeated this process, maintaining a continuous focus of his mind to strengthen the neural activity of this pathway.

A moment later, when he tried again, his forearm seemed to respond a little faster, and the coordination of his five fingers had also improved slightly. The increase in strength was negligible, but the sense of lag had indeed lessened.

Amamiya Rin's face lit up with joy, and he couldn't help but feel grateful to Inudou Ranko and the head priest, Onikaku.

The Six Subtle Gates and the White Bone Contemplation, though not supernatural meditation techniques, helped him more than he expected.

With the help of the Six Wonders practiced over 10 years, coupled with rehabilitation training and functional electrical stimulation system at the hospital, he will be able to discard his crutches and regain normal mobility in just a few days.

"Next time I enter a dream, I'll try to optimize my breathing technique. I don't aim for the level of Ripple Breathing, but at least I'll strive for the Demon Slayer Breathing Technique."

Amamiya Rin murmured optimistically to himself as he slowly walked towards the door, leaning on his cane.

Pushing open the wooden door to the guest room, the cool morning air rushed into her lungs, carrying the freshness of the mountain plants. Although Yu Gonglin was no longer in a meditative state, she still felt refreshed and invigorated, as if she had opened the door to a new world.

The road ahead remains difficult; the curse of the long dream remains unbroken; and various world-ending crises and strange tales still lurk in the shadows.

But at least, he found a way to survive that he could reach.