Fanyin Temple.

These three words may sound ordinary at first, but when combined together, they become the well-known leader of Buddhism and Taoism in the world of cultivation. Whether it is monks or ordinary people, when they hear this title, they often show respect and say "a great and upright sect."

A long time ago, Ningning thought so too.

Until she saw Mingkong's human bell and pestle, and Master Yonggui's passionate Buddhist rap.

The Fanyin Temple is filled with Buddha's light, but something seems to be wrong.

And today, Ningning finally got the chance to experience for herself how abnormal this place is.

——Shortly after the exchange and learning between the Xuanxu Sword School and the Wanjian Sect, the Fanyin Temple held the triennial Buddhist Conference.

This gathering is a grand event for the Buddhists. In addition to the Buddhist practitioners from all directions, all the major immortal sects will also send their disciples to participate and share in the good fortune and Buddha's light.

Xuanxu Sword School is one of them.

The ones who came here with Tian Xianzi this time were Ning Ning, Pei Ji, Zheng Weiqi, Lin Xun and He Zhizhou.

“Don’t be fooled by the name ‘Buddhism Conference’. If you try it, you will find it is actually very interesting.”

Tian Xianzi walked in the front and whispered to the young disciples behind him: "During the Dharma Assembly, each elder of Fanyin Temple will give a small class with different contents for disciples from various sects to study Buddhism and experience the life of practicing Buddhism in Fanyin Temple."

While listening, Ningning raised her eyes to look at the scenery inside the temple.

The depths of winter have not yet passed, and the sky and the earth are still covered with endless white snow. The ancient temple is leaning against the layers of mountains and peaks. The glazed tiles are magnificent and golden, the temple body is a rich vermilion, and the dense pines and cypresses are vigorous and deep, all dyed with flawless and lustrous white.

There were a variety of colors all around, but when she looked around, she could only see the constant flow of people coming and going.

The masters in Fanyin Temple come from all corners of the world, and without exception they all have big flesh-colored heads. When they gather together and walk in a staggered manner, they look like eggs boiling in a frying pan, or the waves that rise and fall constantly and surge from side to side.

A cold winter wind blew by, and Pei Ji beside him coughed lightly.

After recuperating in his master's sect for a period of time, his body had recovered a little. Although he could walk as usual, his consciousness was still weak due to the severe injuries caused by the thunder.

Ningning glanced at him and said in a gentle voice: "Are you feeling cold?"

Pei Ji shook his head: "No problem."

He lowered his eyelashes and looked at her when he spoke, then he subconsciously pursed his lips and forced down the discomfort in his throat.

Pei Ji was wearing black today, and the dark black made his whole face look even paler, especially his thin lips which were completely bloodless and looked excessively dry.

Ningning looked up and saw a jade-white hairband hanging with her black hair.

It was the one she gave him in Luancheng.

After Ningning gave it to Pei Ji, she never saw him use it.

She originally thought that he liked dark black and felt that this color was too abrupt and eye-catching. Later, when she came back from the desert, she heard He Zhizhou say that Pei Ji had kept the hairband hidden in his shirt until the last thunderbolt fell, and then he used it to tie his long hair.

At that time, He Zhizhou half-jokingly asked her: "Ningning, seeing how Junior Brother Pei cherishes it, you didn't give it to him, did you?"

Just because of that sentence, Ningning blushed on the spot.

Strangely enough, Pei Ji had never used it openly before, but after returning to Xuanxu from Tianhe, he often tied the ribbon in his hair.

The first time she noticed this change and stared at him intently, he even blushed out of awkwardness.

"This is my first time coming to Fanyin Temple."

Ning Ning collected her thoughts, lowered her head with a smile, and gently hooked her fingertips, which landed on his little finger: "Maybe I can meet Master Mingkong and Master Yonggui. I don't know what they are doing."

As she spoke, she hooked her finger upwards.

The force was sudden and unexpected, and although it was only used on the little finger, it caused Pei Ji's entire left hand to move upward. Soon, a soft and gentle touch gradually spread, and Ningning's five fingers covered his palm one by one, wrapping it completely.

Pei Ji had never tried to hold her hand in such a public place - let alone in such a quiet Buddhist place.

The clenched left hand stiffened slightly.

"Pei Ji."

Ningning's voice lingered in my ears, very low, with a smile: "Why did you never use this headband before, but suddenly wore it these days?"

While she was talking, warm spiritual power spread from the palm of her hand, like a stream of water, passing through every line on his hand, passing through the blood, and spreading to every part of his cold body, dispelling the uncomfortable chill.

Ningning's hands were much smaller than his, and they pressed down softly, like a ball of boneless cotton.

She slowly transferred her spiritual power, and adjusted the hand-holding movement awkwardly and without leaving any trace. Sometimes her fingertips rubbed against the calluses or scars on his hands, which not only gave him warmth but also caused a slight itch.

Pei Ji: “…”

Pei Ji's eyes dimmed slightly, and he suddenly spread out his five fingers to break free from the restraints, then he reached back with his hand and held Ningning's entire right hand in his hand.

"That's right," he felt the warmth flowing in his palms and coughed again, "I just suddenly wanted to use it."

Ningning: “Eh——”

As she spoke, she took another step closer to him, bringing a reassuring warmth, looking into Pei Ji's eyes without blinking, and almost leaning close to his ear, she smiled and said, "Really?"

The black-clothed young man beside him obviously had a disordered aura.

He could slay demons and monsters in public, and was used to being in a mess with scars and blood all over his body. But it was such a soft, almost ambiguous action that would make his ears feel hot.

Pei Ji did not respond immediately. He increased the strength of his hands and tried to stroke the back of her hand with his fingertips like Ning Ning did.

"besides."

The two of them walked at the end of the Xuanxu Sword Sect team. Few others looked back. He touched her awkwardly, his throat moving slightly: "It's different now than before..."

He had never had any hope before and only dared to watch her figure from afar. That hairband might be the only thing he could get from Ningning.

What's more, given the relationship between the two of them, if he used it, it would always feel like an act of usurpation.

But now it's different.

This is... a gift from the girl he likes.

She also has a crush on him.

Pei Ji had an idea he had never had before. He wanted more people to know that Ning Ning had given it to him.

It's like some kind of declaration of sovereignty, or a youthful, quiet show-off.

So childish.

Ningning smiled softly.

Perhaps hearing the laughter, Pei Ji pressed her palm with his thumb, making a silent and weak protest.

The group followed Tian Xianzi through the sea of ​​people, and soon arrived at the Dharma discussion platform in the center of the Fanyin Temple.

"The elders who are giving small classes are all over here at the Dharma Discussion Platform. You can take a look at them. If you are interested, go ahead and give it a try."

Tian Xianzi finished his introduction and smiled hastily: "I have a competition with the abbot of Fanyin Temple. I will take my leave now. Please don't worry about me."

The master is an absolute sword fanatic. Whenever he arrives at a new place, he will compete with the local masters.

——The ending is often a lose-lose situation for both sides. Tian Xianzi has no money to treat his wounds, so he can only eat and drink for free and stay in the other party's sect as a parasite.

Although he did not mean to do so, Ningning had reason to suspect that this was a new type of fraud.

She was not surprised by this. She waved goodbye to Tian Xianzi, then turned her head and looked at the masters on the discussion platform one by one.

This small class recruiting was very similar to the club's welcoming of new members. Each elder sat on a cushion with many small dark golden characters floating in the air beside him. They were all condensed from spiritual power and were used to introduce the content of the small class in detail.

“I once attended a Dharma conference.”

Zheng Weiqi seemed to be recalling some not-so-nice past events, and her facial features gradually turned into a rugged bitter melon: "In short... you must choose carefully. If you meet an unreliable monk, you will be tortured terribly."

Ning Ning asked curiously, "Senior Sister, which small class did you choose last time?"

Zheng Weiqi's expression was a little stern: "Let's enjoy the music theory together."

He Zhizhou was amused: "Senior Sister Zheng, you won't be assigned to ring the bell, right?"

After he finished speaking, he let out a light "Hey" and sent a message to Ning Ning: "Isn't this what it is! There is the Hunchback of Notre Dame in Paris, and we have the Bell Tower Swordsman Zheng Weiqi in the Fanyin Temple!"

Ningning looked at him in shock.

What amoxicillin? His name is obviously Quasimodo.

"That's not the case. There are people in charge of both the morning and evening bells. I'm not up to the task."

Zheng Weiqi's eyes were blank as she lost herself in memories. "I just went into the main hall with dozens of monks. We sat in a dark little room and struck the wooden fish for three days and three nights, chanting scriptures while striking. Do you want to listen? Gate Gate, Paragate, Parasenggate..."

——I don’t want to listen at all!

Moreover, the senior sister’s eyes were dull and her tone was becoming more and more like that of a repeating robot! That passage from the Buddhist scripture is definitely engraved in her DNA. It's so scary!

"Everyone, look over there."

Lin Xun, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke. He was still not used to crowded places, and he took a step closer to He Zhizhou while speaking: "Is that Young Master Yonggui? Why is he sitting on a cushion like the elders?"

Ningning followed his gaze and saw a familiar figure. Yonggui obviously saw them as well, nodded, and gave a very kind smile.

"The energy of the Buddhist elders is limited, and some of their disciples who have achieved success in cultivation can also get the opportunity to give small classes."

Zheng Weiqi explained patiently, then frowned: "But this guy... doesn't look very reliable."

Ning Ning agreed: "Senior sister, please be more confident and remove the word 'looks like'."

Although Yonggui's Buddhist rap is strange, the music is just an external way of practicing Buddhism. In terms of his personal habits, he is not that weird.

Therefore, the small dark golden characters that appeared next to the little monk were neatly written: Enlightenment of Zen.

"Life is like flowing clouds and running water. Only when the five aggregates are empty can there be no regrets. Greed, anger and ignorance are broken through at the moment, and you can become a Buddha in Zen."

Yonggui said slowly, "To transcend the five elements and look at things with one's heart is the 'Zen' of Buddhism. If you have any problems in your life, you can talk to me. Maybe I can figure it out."

"really?"

Zheng Weiqi became interested: "Young Master, I want to make money, practice swordsmanship, and go down the mountain to subdue monsters. However, I have too little time now and cannot do everything at the same time. What should I do?"

Yonggui smiled and said, "How difficult is this?"

After he finished speaking, he lowered his head and rummaged in his storage bag for a while. After a while, he took out a few pebbles and a wooden cup.

As Ning Ning expected, the little monk really put the stone into the wooden cup and looked up at Zheng Weiqi: "Donor, is the cup full?"

This routine is outdated.

Judging from his proficiency in taking out the storage bag, this so-called "Zen riddle" should be a mass-produced philosophical story, which can be used as long as a problem that is almost suitable is encountered.

Zheng Weiqi looked like she was looking at a mentally retarded person. To save her young master's face, she still said in a cooperative tone, "It's full."

"Not really."

Yonggui was young after all, and seeing her fall into his trap obediently, he was very happy. He forced the corners of his lips down, took out a handful of fine sand and stones from the storage bag, and gradually filled the gaps between the stones: "Look, this is full."

His voice and movements were done in one go. Zheng Weiqi pretended to applaud as if she had suddenly realized something, but she suddenly heard a serious voice beside her: "No, that's not right, it's not full yet!"

It’s He Zhizhou.

"The basic component of sand and gravel is silicon dioxide, and □□ can just dissolve silicon dioxide!"

He Zhizhou's eyes sparkled as he thought about it, and he became more and more excited as he spoke: "As for the stone in the cup, it is limestone, and its main component is calcium carbonate. As long as an appropriate amount of dilute hydrochloric acid is added, it will also undergo a dissolution reaction. In this way, a large space can be left in the cup - as long as the chemical reaction continues, the cup will never become full. It's amazing!"

Yonggui didn't understand this nonsense and looked at him with the eyes of a mentally ill patient.

Yonggui tried to use a tactful tone: "This donor... is he chanting some ancient spell?"

Young Master Yonggui was so delighted to receive Zheng Weiqi's praise that he almost burst into tears.

Although Senior Sister Zheng is sometimes unreliable, she is ultimately a good cultivator who respects the elderly and loves the young. Seeing how innocent he was, she felt a sense of justice and signed up with the little monk.

Ningning was not very interested in the small classes. Rather than being locked up in the main hall for days and nights, she preferred to wander around the Fanyin Temple freely.

It just so happened that Pei Ji was too lazy to participate, so the two of them hit it off and wandered around the discussion platform.

He Zhizhou and Lin Xun loved to join in the fun and went through all the homework. When Ningning asked him later which school he had decided on, He Zhizhou smiled and pointed to an old monk not far away.

Ningning raised her eyes and glanced at the small dark gold words on the man's side. She was shocked at just a quick glance.

Wow, there are four big words written on it: [Uniform Temptation].

*

Although Fanyin Temple is called a "temple", it actually covers a very large area and is far more than the size of a temple. All the towering mountains and steep cliffs in all directions are included in it. It is far from possible to visit them all in just one day.

Taking Pei Ji's injuries into consideration, Ningning did not go to the colder mountains, but just wandered around the temple. When we returned to the temple, it was already dusk.

Unexpectedly, just a few steps forward through the temple gate, the two actually saw He Zhizhou and Lin Xun in a small courtyard not far away.

Ningning was very interested in their small class and pulled Pei Ji forward curiously. When she saw the scene in the courtyard, she couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

There were quite a lot of people attending this small class, all of them were Buddhist practitioners. As for the lay people, there were only He Zhizhou and Lin Xun.

It was cold in the yard, but everyone took off their coats and held a scripture in their hands.

The Buddhist practitioners were all concentrating and frowning, some of them were even naked from the upper body, gathering energy in their dantian and chanting scriptures with full force from their throats, which was deafening.

Compared with them, He Zhizhou and Lin Xun were like two skinny little chicks.

The two of them huddled side by side in a cold corner, with confusion in their eyes and brows, and shivering constantly because of the cold. While trembling, he would pitifully open the Buddhist scriptures in his hand and recite the familiar sentences: "Gate Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate..."

The scene here was horrific, but in the center of the courtyard, there sat an old monk with a smile on his face, and Mingkong, who also had a happy face.

There was a steaming stove in front of the two monks.

"Master, this is indeed a furnace that contains spiritual fire. It is so comfortable and reassuring."

Mingkong raised his hand and stuffed a piece of dessert into his mouth, revealing an extremely compassionate smile from the corner of his mouth: "The dessert melts in your mouth, and the fire warms your heart. Winter is really nice."

The old monk also smiled, and looked up at the corner gently: "Does anyone want to have a bite? It's sweet and sticky. If you come, you can also feel the warmth of the fire, how nice."

Ningning was stunned.

What does it mean to kill someone and destroy their heart?

——It turns out that in [Uniform Temptation], the so-called "uniform" is not a noun, but a verb!

Let’s look at He Zhizhou and Lin Xun.

Both of them had their eyes bloodshot and were so angry that they barked like dogs, but there was nothing they could do about it. They were like two hollowed-out corpses. When they looked up and met her eyes, their eyes were full of tears.

Poor, so pitiful.

Especially Xiaobailong, who knew nothing about anything, was dragged to this class by He Zhizhou in a daze.

Ningning felt sad and left the courtyard quietly with Pei Ji.

It was getting close to evening and many classes had ended their teaching for the whole day. She looked for Zheng Weiqi in the crowd intentionally. After some twists and turns, she finally saw the senior sister at the main entrance of the hall.

Zheng Weiqi's enlightenment of Zen has ended. For some reason, when Senior Sister Zheng walked on the road with a blank expression on her face, she didn't look like a swordsman, but more like a homeless female ghost.

Ning Ning felt something was wrong and tentatively called out, "Senior Sister Zheng?"

Seeing the other party turned his head away in surprise, he added: "How are you learning?"

Zheng Weiqi looked at her dimly, her dark pupils like a pair of eerie bottomless pits, which made Ningning feel a chill on her back.

There was silence for a moment.

In a moment, the senior sister seemed to smile, and the corners of her mouth twitched and curled up slightly.

Ningning saw her reach into the storage bag, take out a handful of fine sand and throw it forward against the wind. Her head and face were covered with sand, and she grinned against the wind.

Zheng Weiqi immediately carried a banner while holding a pot in her left hand and a cup in her right hand and kept pouring tea, letting the hot water pour on her hands. Finally, she took out a scorpion and stung her arm wildly.

Zheng Weiqi was laughing wildly: "Is it because the flag is fluttering or because it is full that we have to learn to let go? If you want to pollute pure things, or want to trap people with innocent thoughts, the sin will hurt yourself instead. Stinging people is its nature, and compassion is my nature. My nature will not change because of its nature - hehe, hahaha!"

Ningning: ...

Ningning's eyes became more and more sharp.

Help! Senior Sister Zheng is crazy!

*

You can’t stay in this Fanyin Temple.

There was a small class the next day. He Zhizhou, Lin Xun and Zheng Weiqi suffered greatly from it. After returning, they were as sad as if they had gone to a funeral. After some discussion, they decided to go to the Dharma Discussion Platform immediately and cancel their names on the registration form.

"He asked me to recite a hundred Buddhist philosophy stories within the time it takes to stick an incense stick."

Zheng Weiqi walked on the way to the Dharma Discussion Platform, complaining with a sad look on her face: "Is this something a human can do? No! The most incredible thing is that several Buddhist practitioners actually memorized it!"

"How could this happen?"

He Zhizhou's eyes were dull: "I thought this was a small class with a dozen monks in robes dancing around me, and I would definitely be able to resist the temptation... Why is this happening?"

Lin Xun was shivering in the cold wind: "Woo woo woo ..."

"So," Ning Ning asked cautiously as they were about to reach the debate platform, "Are you really planning to destroy the name secretly?"

Zheng Weiqi vowed: "There are so many people in a small class. Even if one or two of them disappear, it will not attract attention. The only thing we have to be careful about is that our actions tonight must not be noticed by others."

Therefore, in order to ensure safety, Ningning and Pei Ji were arranged at the two entrances of the discussion platform respectively, standing still and keeping watch.

On a cold winter night, everything seems particularly lonely and deserted. The moon cast a bright white light, like water flowing on the snow.

Ningning was looking around intently when, without any warning, she felt a sudden surge of spiritual power.

This spiritual power is gentle and profound, like a majestic green mountain standing quietly. She felt something was wrong and quickly used voice transmission to warn the people inside. Unexpectedly, just as she finished her words, a gust of wind passed by her ears.

"It's so late, what are you doing here, little donor? You're looking around, are you looking for someone?"

The gentle young man's voice was as clear as snow. Ningning looked up and saw a monk with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes.

As he spoke, he turned his gaze slightly, looking past Ning Ning and directly at the three shadows standing still on the discussion platform: "Or are they deliberately doing something else... bad?"

This person came silently and appeared beside her almost instantly. He must have a very high level of cultivation.

Sure enough, in the next moment, Ningning heard his polite voice: "I am Jiru, a poor monk."

It turned out to be Elder Jiru of Fanyin Temple.

The host caught him doing something bad and the scene was very embarrassing for a while.

"I, I was—"

If they were taking a walk, they would have separated and Zheng Weiqi and others would have stood in front of the list stealthily. If this was the explanation, it would only increase suspicion.

Ningning really couldn't think of a reason, so she could only stammer and delay time, racking her brains to make up an excuse. At this moment, Pei Ji's voice suddenly rang in her ears.

He whispered, "I found them."

What? Found who? Who is to be found?

Ning Ning couldn't figure out the logic behind this sentence, so she could only nod blankly in agreement with his meaning, and then listened to Pei Ji continue: "You have to be mentally prepared, they are a little different from usual."

He paused and emphasized: "After all...I am sleepwalking."

Ningning was stunned.

Pei Ji actually said something very extraordinary in a serious manner!

As soon as these words came out, not only was Elder Ji Ru stunned, but the other three people on the Dharma discussion platform were also stunned and exchanged glances with each other.

He Zhizhou: "Sleepwalking?"

Lin Xun: “Is it feasible?”

Zheng Weiqi: "He said so, we can only do it - wait, who among us knows what sleepwalking is?"

He Zhizhou: "Watch me!"

The new snow reflected the moonlight, and there was a very brief silence all around. In the boundless night, Ji Ru clearly saw that a figure on the Dharma discussion platform moved slowly.

The kind that crawls while standing.

The moonlight wet the man's face, and he saw the appearance of the young swordsman.

His face was pale and his expression was vague. His eyes were half-open, leaving only a small slit. Through the slit, one could see the wildly rolling eyes and crazy eyeballs.

Then the moonlight dimmed, and three bodies suddenly stood up, all with their necks and arms hanging down, and began to move slowly and stiffly. The scene was once very strange, and the corpse drivers in the Miao village had to call them brothers when they saw each other.

Especially the young man who rolled his eyes, his condition became worse and worse, his mouth and eyes were crooked, and he had started to grind his teeth.

Looking at He Zhizhou's appearance, Ningning thought of the Yuanmou Man in the history textbook at an inappropriate time.

"this……"

Ji Ru was silent for a moment: "Is this sleepwalking?"

He was still choking on the last word when he saw He Zhizhou getting closer and closer, walking like a zombie while muttering devilish words: "Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, phosphorus..."

This is a very normal periodic table of elements, but Ji Ru knew nothing about it.

He just felt it was so weird and scary. What this person said in his sleep was like a spell left over from ancient times, which made it impossible to understand!

"Silent as the elder."

Pei Ji said in a calm tone: "My disciples often sleepwalk collectively. Do you want me to wake them up?"

Ji Ru's expression was complicated.

Ji Ru: "Let's not do that, shall we? I heard that you can't wake up in the middle of sleepwalking... How about we just do it quietly?"

He paused, then hesitated and said, "I never thought that the pressure on the disciples of Xuanxu Sword Sect would be so great. How could a healthy child become sick like this?"

Pei Ji remained silent for a long while, then pointed at the plum blossoms beside him.

Ji Ru suddenly realized: "Oh! Are you trying to say that the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold? You have practiced swordsmanship and sought the truth for many years, so this kind of hardship is inevitable?"

Pei Ji shook his head and pointed at He Zhizhou and Lin Xun who were not far away: "Sword cultivators."

Then he looked at the plum branches drooping in front of him and said, "No money (in front of plum blossoms)."

Ningning said "Wow" in her heart.

Pei Ji, is very good at drawing inferences from one instance!