Chapter 999: The beginning of Journey to the West is helpless
a long time……
"When you get back, tell your master that this move by Buddhism is the prelude to the spread of Mahayana Buddhism to the east!"
The Taoist Master spoke leisurely and said in a concentrated voice: "This matter is the result of a direct dialogue between Lingshan and the Taoist sect's senior officials. It is not something that the Central Plains Taoist sect can participate in. Of course, the Central Plains Taoist sect cannot be confused and calculated!"
Li Chunfeng looked confused. Did you hear that right?
I felt like I had discovered something extraordinary, and I was both flustered and excited at the same time.
Being able to participate in the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism outside the world, even just a little bit, made him feel excited and uneasy, and his mood was agitated and difficult to calm down for a long time.
"Master, if Buddhism plays this trick, I'm afraid that Buddhism in the Central Plains will completely gain momentum!"
After a long time, Li Chunfeng finally regained his composure. Instead of saying goodbye in a hurry, he frowned and said softly: "If we don't do something, I'm afraid the Central Plains Taoist Sect will be suppressed!"
"Then follow the steps of Buddhism!"
The Taoist master smiled and said: "Whatever the Buddhists do, the Taoists will do the same. In short, there will be no mistakes!"
this……
Li Chunfeng's face was a little stiff, and he smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid it will make people laugh if you act like this!"
"It would be best if the Central Plains Dao Sect could get rid of the trouble caused by Li Er!"
The Taoist master spoke very rudely and said coldly: "If you don't have such ability, don't reach out randomly, otherwise the consequences will be very bad!"
Li Chunfeng was a little confused, but he couldn't say any more. After saying goodbye respectfully, he turned around and left, without expressing the thoughts he had hidden in his heart for a long time.
He wanted to stay with the Taiping Taoist leader for a while. In addition to getting to know the Taiping Taoist leader in depth, he also had other things on his mind, but he just couldn't open his mouth in front of the Taoist master who was obviously unhappy.
After returning to his temporary residence, he packed up the large number of books he had purchased this time. Without having time to look around more in Beihai City, Li Chunfeng hurriedly got on the third-generation rune railcar deliberately arranged by the senior management of Taiping Road and left.
The speed of the three rune railcars was much faster than the rune long-distance carriage when they came, but in just a few days they crossed the Taiping Road and arrived at the edge town where they stayed.
Fast, really fast!
Only by personally experiencing the speed of the third generation rune railcar can we vaguely understand the convenient transportation that integrated open space and land in the Yellow Turban era.
By the time he hurried back to Chang'an and returned to his teacher Yuan Tiangang, a month had passed.
"Hey, I didn't expect that for such a big event, Taiping Road would get the news so early!"
After reading the reply, Yuan Tiangang's expression changed for a while, and finally he put away the letter and shook his head and sighed: "Sure enough, they are in contact with the Yellow Turban Army who have already left!"
"Master, didn't you notice it before?"
Li Chunfeng was taken aback, and immediately understood the meaning of his master's words, and said curiously: "The strength of the Zhongyuan Taoist Sect is not bad at all!"
Not bad, but very strong!
But in front of the master, Li Chunfeng naturally had to be more modest and reserved when speaking.
You must know that before the Wuhu Chaos in China, the strength of the Central Plains Taoist Sect has been maintained quite well. Even if there was another rebellion by the Heavenly Master Sun En, it had a limited impact on the Central Plains Taoist Sect.
As for Buddhism, it was only after Bodhidharma traveled east that it slowly developed and prospered.
Although Buddhism in the Central Plains at this time was already on par with Taoism, it was far worse than the situation in normal history when Buddhism suppressed Taoism.
The strength of the Zhongyuan Taoist Sect has been maintained well, and naturally they have eyes and ears all over the world. Even if the situation of the Taiping Taoist leader is a bit special, it shouldn't be able to hide it.
After all, after all these years, there should be some clues about Taiping Dao’s contact with the Yellow Turban Army outside the boundary, right?
"Chunfeng, you don't understand!"
Yuan Tiangang smiled bitterly and said: "Although Taiping Road is a place that is closely connected to the outside world, it is not easy to install trustworthy eyes and ears!"
Without explaining anything, he shook his head and changed the subject: "Do you know what happened in Chang'an in the past few months when you were there?"
"what happened?"
Li Chunfeng followed the teacher's words and asked, "Is it possible that Buddhism has other measures?"
Although he was very curious about the meaning of the teacher's previous words, the teacher had no choice but to say it. He was indeed very concerned about the situation in Chang'an.
"Hehe, not long after you left, Your Majesty didn't know what happened. His soul was dragged to the underworld for a tour!"
An inexplicable smile appeared on Yuan Tiangang's face, but his tone was very cold, and he said disdainfully: "As soon as your Majesty returns to the sun, he will immediately invite a group of eminent monks who came to Chang'an to hold a Dharma conference to save the souls of the dead!"
"Conduct a Dharma conference to transcend the souls of the dead?"
Li Chunfeng was taken aback and asked curiously: "Not only the Buddhist sect has this skill, our Taoist sect's salvation methods are also not bad, right? Why didn't we ask the Taoist sect to take action?"
"Who knows what happened?"
Yuan Tiangang sneered and said: "Buddhism is also a good method. Several eminent monks came and immediately solved the matter of the remnant soul of the Jinghe Dragon King. Your Majesty is very trustworthy now!"
"And after that?"
Li Chunfeng asked curiously: "What else happened?"
"Haha, Master, I didn't know the Buddhist plan before, but now that I have the letter from Taiping Dao Master, I know it well!"
Yuan Tiangang smiled and said: "Nothing happens for now, just wait!"
As a result, the Emperor Li Er of the Tang Dynasty took a fancy to the Zen master of Jinshan Temple, thinking that he was a rare eminent monk in Buddhism, and asked him to preside over the grand salvation ceremony in Chang'an.
Masters and disciples Yuan Tiangang, Li Chunfeng, and a group of Daoist disciples who rushed over looked on with cold eyes. They wanted to see what kind of trouble the Buddhists wanted to cause?
After receiving the reminder from Taiping Dao, Yuan Tiangang immediately summoned a group of Taoist masters to gather in Chang'an.
They had discussed it in private and would not easily interfere with Buddhism's actions. However, if Buddhism wanted to use Taoism as a stepping stone, it would be a wrong calculation.
With Taoist masters like them watching, there is no guarantee that problems will not arise, but troubles involving Taoism can be minimized.
When the last resort is necessary, start a discussion with a Buddhist monk to disrupt the situation. If that doesn't work, then you can only drag Taipingdao, a very sensitive existence, directly into the water.
After all, the Taiping Road side can directly contact the Yellow Turban Army outside the boundary, which is a much better advantage than them.
Although it is not clear how the Yellow Turban Army is doing outside the world, at least there is a source of information, so that it is not unclear and it is not known that they have been plotted by Buddhism.
Besides, the existence of the Taiping Taoist leader was an issue that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty needed to consider carefully, and the Taoist sect still had a strong say in this matter.
Compared with elite disciples like Li Chunfeng, Taoist masters such as Yuan Tiangang who have reached the level of earthly immortals naturally know more secret information.
They understood in their hearts that Emperor Li Er of the Tang Dynasty must have known about the affairs of the Taiping Taoist leaders, and the reason why they pretended not to cut them off was just to deceive themselves and others, and they made this choice because they had no way to solve it.
Of course, the main reason why Taiping Taoist leaders have always been honest and disciplined is that such a unique Taoist force can naturally play a role at critical moments.
Many times, Taoists will use the affairs of Taiping Taoist leaders as bargaining chips, and the results are often quite good.
However, it is also because of this that the relationship between Taiping Dao and the other branches of Zhongyuan Daomen can only be described as plain as water.
Without further ado, a group of Taoist masters gathered in Chang'an, which naturally could not be hidden from the eyes and ears of Tang Emperor Li Er, but Li Er had no intention of paying attention to these old immortals at this time.
After being dragged to the underworld by some unknown being, Li Er became particularly concerned about the salvation of the souls of the dead, especially the souls that were related to or entangled in cause and effect.
Originally, it was not impossible to invite the Taoist sect to participate, but the performance of the Buddhist monks was very outstanding, and they were able to solve the problem, so they simply didn't bother to invite the Taoist sect to take action.
On this day, in the middle of the Dharma Assembly, Emperor Li Er of the Tang Dynasty once again visited the Dharma Assembly in person, and then the old monk transformed by Guanyin Bodhisattva appeared on the stage. He made a lot of words, and the subtext was that the Dharma of Buddhism in the Eastern Land of the Tang Dynasty was not good at the moment.
, you have to go to Xitianling Mountain to obtain the true scripture.
Emperor Li Er of the Tang Dynasty was moved, and all the Taoist masters were shocked...
The revelation of Guanyin Bodhisattva's true form was a rare event. Regardless of its specific impact, it shocked all the Taoist masters who were watching indifferently.
"Buddhism's initiative this time is really big, even Guanyin is sent out!"
Yuan Tiangang sighed and said helplessly: "Buddhism has gained quite a lot of limelight this time. I'm afraid that its limelight will overshadow our Taoist sect for a long time!"
"There's nothing we can do about it!"
"Things have already happened. We can only deal with it calmly. I just wonder if there are any brave monks in Buddhism who are willing to travel hundreds of millions of miles to the West Tianling Mountain to obtain the true scriptures?"
"Fortunately, Taipingdao informed us in advance this time, otherwise we would have been passive if we hadn't known about it at the first time!"
Here, a group of Taoist scholars were so shocked that they began to talk. Over there, Emperor Tang made a request, and Xuanzang, who was born in Jinshan Temple, took the initiative to accept the request.
What happened is almost the same as the beginning of Journey to the West.
In order to encourage him, Emperor Li Er of the Tang Dynasty generously made arrangements with Master Xuanzang, then took a few followers, mounted his royal horse, took the Zen staff cassock given by the incarnation of Guanyin, and set off westward.
A group of Taoist masters looked on coldly: "..."
Even if they break their heads, they still don’t understand. Even if such a young monk successfully reaches Xitianling Mountain to obtain the scriptures, can he still successfully bring them back if he acts alone?
Although they have never left the Kyushu Barrier, they are also aware of the dangers outside the border.
There are demons and monsters running rampant outside the boundary. Master Xuanzang obviously has no experience in spiritual practice. It is probably the result of delivering food as soon as he leaves the Kyushu boundary.
I thought a lot and discussed a lot, but none of the Taoists were very optimistic about it.
However, Master Xuanzang's move definitely gained a lot of impression points for Buddhism in the Central Plains. Coupled with the previous drama of the Thirteen Stick Monks rescuing the King of Tang, Emperor Li Er of the Tang Dynasty had a very good impression of Buddhism and gave many preferential treatment policies.
This is the trouble that Taoist masters have to find ways to deal with.
As Buddhism becomes more popular, Taoism will have to be suppressed. It is so cruel...