The two of them continued walking towards the bamboo forest, feeling the breeze blowing on their faces, which was cool and pleasant.
The wind blows through the broken leaves of the bamboo forest, like people chanting sutras in a low voice, and the smell is unpleasant.
If it were Miss Shi here, she would be extremely scared again, trembling with fear, wishing she could hide in Luo Yan's arms.
But Witch Jiang was not afraid at all. She had seen many weirder scenes than this. At this time, she just kept waving her sleeves as she walked, and strange black lights flew out from them, circled around and then flew back quietly.
"Is that the magic you use to drive demons away from the Demonic Way?" Wei Dongliu asked casually.
"It's just a little trick." Jiang Lixuan smiled coquettishly, "It's not worth mentioning."
Seeing that she didn't want to say more, Wei Dongliu didn't ask further questions, but said seriously:
"Did you find anything?"
"The demons don't like this place." Jiang Lizhen replied, "There is an aura around here that they don't like...well, it's not an authentic Taoist spell, but it smells a bit like a bald donkey."
"A Buddhist monk?" Wei Dongliu frowned secretly, "But I don't know which Buddhist sect it is."
Taoism is divided into interpretation and interpretation, and Buddhism is naturally not monolithic, but as a religious sect, it can be divided into radical leftists and conservative rightists.
Chan's teaching emphasizes "teaching students in accordance with their aptitude," which means that they value objective conditions more than subjective wishes. Those who are not qualified to practice Taoism should not practice Taoism. They should farm, do business, and study... Since they do not pay attention to the expansion of preaching, they belong to the conservative right.
Jiejiao, however, advocates "education without distinction" and believes that man can conquer nature, and that even those with poor qualifications can embark on the path of spiritual practice as long as they have the heart to follow the Tao... Therefore, they tend to recruit as many disciples as possible to expand their power, and they belong to the radical left
.
Nowadays, the Three Purities of Orthodoxy are at their peak, and the Six Paths of Demonicism have been suppressed. It can be said that the Taoist conservatives have the upper hand. However, on the Buddhist side, the situation is completely the opposite.
Theravada Buddhism of Buddhism emphasizes "to save others, save yourself first", so it belongs to the conservative right; Mahayana Buddhism believes that "all living beings can be saved", but it is the radical left.
Since Theravada Buddhism likes to stay in seclusion, those who travel outside and interact with other sects are almost all Mahayana Buddhists.
If the people who live in seclusion here are Theravada Buddhists, they will most likely ignore Wei Dongliu and Jiang Lixun, which means they will neither persecute them nor provide any help.
But in the case of Mahayana Buddhism, the specific situation is more variable depending on their attitude towards interception and casual cultivation.
Wei Dongliu thought carefully and took Witch Jiang to go deeper, and finally saw an ancient temple ahead.
Although it is said to be "an ancient temple", if you look closely, it should actually be a temple complex. As the two of them continued to approach, more buildings seemed to be squeezed out of the void, extending to the left and right.
Jiang Lizhen obviously hesitated, but Wei Dongliu knew that this was an automatic change of the Mustard Seed Sumeru Formation, so he stepped onto the steps without hesitation and walked towards the ancient temple.
Seeing how decisive he was, Witch Jiang could only grit her teeth and keep up, having already prepared the spell in her hand.
Climbing the steps and crossing the main entrance, the two of them saw that in the huge temple, there was only an old monk with his back to them, sitting on a futon with his back hunched over and beating the wooden fish rhythmically.
On both sides are displayed huge Buddha statues two to three feet high, with the top of their heads almost level with the beams.
What’s even more strange is that these Buddha statues do not have kind-looking faces. Instead, they all show emotions, anger, sorrow, and different expressions.
If you look closely, you will see that those expressions are extremely weird.
Although the smiling Buddha statue is smiling, his eyebrows are drooped, as if he is "forcing a smile".
Although the crying Buddha statue is crying, the corners of its mouth are slightly raised, as if "pretending to be sad."
Even the angry Buddha statue reveals indifference and cruelty in its wide-open pupils... In short, it seems that the face of the Buddha statue was drawn by some soul craftsmen.
Well, I was probably wrong, Wei Dongliu thought to himself. This is neither Mahayana Buddhism nor Hinayana Buddhism, but some kind of strange heresy.
He once again set his sights on the old monk in front of him and said in his heart:
"Ajing, scan it."
If it is scanned with spiritual consciousness, it may be noticed by the opponent, but there is no similar problem with the Kunlun Mirror.
Ah Jing, the eternal god!
"Buddha Zhu Yao." Kunlun Jing replied, "My cultivation level is probably at the Demon King Realm, I don't know the specific details."
The so-called Buddha Candle Demon is a kind of demon that is turned into a demon by burning ever-lasting lamps in many temples. It is a common phenomenon in many dilapidated temples.
But it is really rare to reach the Demon King Realm, which is almost equivalent to the Earthly Immortal Realm of monks.
With his mind turning to this point, Wei Dongliu saw the old monk in front of him suddenly stood up slowly, turned around and said:
"It is difficult to have visitors in the temple. We apologize for the poor reception."
Before they finished speaking, the two of them suddenly saw a long table in front of them, with two plain-flower celadon cups placed on it. The tea in the cups was fragrant and steaming.
The corners of Wei Dongliu's eyes twitched. Although it was Shenshi time and suitable for drinking tea, who dared to drink this tea of unknown origin?
Jiang Lizhen also didn't dare to drink. He just stared at the old monk, hesitating whether to test it.
As if aware of what she was thinking, the old monk suddenly raised his eyebrows and shouted at her:
"What a devil! I almost got fooled by you, but you actually dared to sneak into my Grand Palace in an open and fair manner!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Lixun unfolded the sleeves of his robe, and a few black lights rushed out from them, fiercely attacking the old monk!
The old monk had no expression on his face. He just stretched out his hand and flicked his finger, immediately extinguishing a few points of black light. Jiang Lizhen's face changed greatly in shock. As he hurriedly retreated out of the hall, he shouted:
"Immortal! Fellow Daoist Wei, leave quickly!"
Before she could escape from the main hall, a huge purple-gold alms bowl fell from the sky, slapping Jiang Lizhen to the ground like a fly swatting at an insect.
Fortunately, the old monk didn't seem to use all his strength, so Jiang Witch did not turn into a puddle of flesh. She was only half-suppressed by the alms bowl magic weapon, unable to move, and showed an uncertain expression.
"It's strange, it's strange." The old monk murmured, walked to the alms bowl, and stared at the exhausted Jiang Witch, "How come you, a demon, can still speak human language? Do you know how to remind your companions to escape?"
"Master~" Jiang Lixuan was on the verge of crying, pear blossoms were raining, and he begged, "The little girl was born in a poor family. Although she fell into the devil's way by mistake, she often regretted and felt sorry for herself. If the master is willing to show mercy, the little girl will change her ways immediately after she goes out.
, look for the authentic Taoist sect and take refuge in doing good!”
She repeatedly swore and begged softly, but the old monk ignored her, just turned to look at Wei Dongliu and said:
"You practice orthodox Taoism. Who is this devil to you?"
Wei Dongliu hesitated slightly and noticed Jiang Lixun next to him who was pressed down by the alms bowl. His face showed pleading and misery.
Indeed, if he admitted that he had anything to do with her, he might be regarded as an accomplice of the devil by the old monk and be killed together...
But you are also a demon yourself! Dress up as a human monk and kill whatever evildoers you want?
After stringing together all the current clues into one place, Wei Dongliu immediately made an inference and said:
"Fellow Daoist Jiang came here with me. We are old friends. If there is any offense, please forgive me, master."
The old monk was a little surprised when he heard this, while Jiang Lizhen opened her mouth slightly and looked at him with a complicated expression.
"How could you...Oh, Amitabha." The old monk raised his palms and said a verse:
"Once the human body is lost, it will never come back again. It will be temporarily sent to the human world, and it will always live in hell. The suffering and retribution are endless, and it is caused by the three poisons. It is entangled in love, and it is self-tangled. When can you get rid of it if you don't get tired of it?"
While shaking his head and chanting, he sat back on the futon and started banging the wooden fish.