The green ox stepped into the void, and every step it took caused bursts of thunder in the void, the sound was like thunder, and in an instant, the clouds all dispersed, and surged wildly to both sides like a wave. The sound was obviously huge and earth-shaking, but there seemed to be no sound. The people living at the foot of the mountain seemed not to hear a word and still lived their normal life.
Wei Diting stared at this scene, shocked and horified. The turmoil in his heart was difficult to describe in words. He just felt his scalp tingling, and it was precisely because he knew so much that his mood and feelings at the moment were even stronger and could not be described to outsiders. His heart was shaken, his throat paused, and he found it difficult to say anything.
And the emotions at this moment are surging like rivers and like the creation of the world, but when he lowered his head, he saw that the mountain was still calm, people were coming and going as usual, children were running on the path, and a man carrying winter cabbage was shouting something as he walked, his body swaying, and his shoulder pole swaying as well, just like the days of this worldly life, swaying, but finally moving forward step by step.
People on one side were talking about this year's situation and their children's studies with a slight smile on their faces.
The world is as warm as ever.
Not disturbed by these external things at all.
The Taoist rode a green bull down the mountain and entered the world, while the people living at the foot of the mountain continued to live as usual.
One movement and one stillness, one yin and one yang, but at this moment they seemed to fit together. Di Ting suddenly felt an indescribable emotion in his heart. The way of action and inaction was mysterious and subtle, but it was difficult to express in words. He stayed there in a daze and stayed quietly for a long time, but suddenly he felt something.
Di Ting was distracted and murmured, "Courtyard, how come there is only one courtyard left?"
A woodcutter came down the mountain early in the morning, carrying two bundles of firewood on a shoulder pole and a hatchet on his waist. Hearing this, he laughed and said, "Hahaha, isn't this the only house here?! Besides, no one has lived here for a long time, and it's already covered with dust."
"ah?!"
Di Ting was started and said subconsciously: "Ah?"
"Hahaha, if you don't believe me, look!"
The woodcutter raised his hand and pointed in the distance. The man listened carefully and looked up. Sure enough, he saw the house on the mountain. It seemed that a long time had passed. one, seemingly slowly, as if time was eternal.
The woodcutter laughed: "Ha, what nonsense are you talking about?"
"I have been collecting firewood here for a long time. There is only one house here from beginning to end."
Then he laughed loudly and walked forward, bypassing Di Ting, going deeper into the mountains, singing as he walked: "Watching chess pieces being played, the sound of woodcutting, walking slowly at the edge of the valley, selling firewood and wine, laughing wildly and intoxicated by my feelings. The mountains are high in autumn, I pillow my head on the roots of a pine tree facing the moon, and sleep until dawn."
"I recognize the old forest, climb the cliff and cross the ridge, hold the ax to cut the dead vines. I collect a load of rice, sing and go to the market, and exchange it for three liters of rice. There is no competition, the price is average, I don't know how to scheme, I don't know honor or disgrace, I live a peaceful life."
"When we meet, we are either immortals or Taoists. Sit quietly and talk about Huangting."
The ballad became increasingly distant. The woodcutter turned several bends on the road and gradually went farther and farther away. He was shrouded in the mist in the mountains and could no longer be seen. Only Di Ting was absent-minded for a long time. Suddenly, as if waking from a long dream, he said, "Ah, yes."
"It's time for me to go back to the City of the Dead."
On the top of the mountain, the three Taoist ancestors watched their disciples go away, their expressions were either gentle, lonely, or indifferent, but they smiled at each other, nodded, and then each found a direction and walked away. In an instant, they had gone far away without any trace left. Here, the sky was high and the clouds were vast, there were no living beings in the world, the mountains were quiet, and the snow was falling endlessly. Only the sound of the ballad seemed to be there and not there.
…
Qi Wuhuo stood on the top of the mountain for a long time, watching the luck. It was like a dam blocking a river. The momentum of luck was surging, but it was all blocked. Although it was blocked, the majestic momentum did not diminish at all, it just kept accumulating, and when it accumulated to the extreme, it exploded, showing a power far beyond its own limit.
He rode the green ox down, stepped on the long river of luck, and his momentum was overwhelming.
Above the sky, the sun was rising, and purple light fell on the Taoist robe of the young Taoist.
The Taoist robe moved slightly in the wind, and seemed to be emitting a purple glow.
The Taoist raised his hand, holding the Eight Scenery Palace Lantern in his palm. The rising sun entered my lamp, and a bit of purple air, riding on the wind that blows thousands of miles into the sky, all entered my sleeves. The purple air was rising and burning all over the dome, and then as the green ox stepped on the clouds step by step, it seemed as if layers of ripples appeared. The purple air continued, and it actually spread out above the river of clouds.
There are Taoists who practice Qigong every day and pay attention to the timing. From the moment the sun is born, they breathe in and out, absorbing that wisp of purple air into their bodies to strengthen the power of their internal Qi.
Lianyang Temple in Zhongzhou City.
The young Taoist Mingxin was sweeping the floor in front of the Sanqing Temple and breathing in and out while looking at the sky. This was his habit. Although the existence of the purple air was uncertain, day after day, year after year, he would eventually gain something. But at this moment, he suddenly paused and found that the purple air today not only did not disappear in an instant, but instead was like a mighty river, surging and surging, with no end in sight, surging in tide after tide.
The young Taoist Mingxin suddenly opened his eyes.
Immediately he was stunned.
He threw the broom made by the Taoist uncle who had been staying here more than a year ago to the ground and shouted:
"Master, Master!!!"
"Master, please come out and take a look!"
The old Taoist priest smiled and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Master, please come out and see, please come out and see!"
Mingxin didn't care and dragged the old Taoist priest out. The old Taoist priest smiled and comforted his disciple, saying that it was a big deal and there was no fuss. He then walked out, raised his head and looked outside. His expression froze in an instant and he almost forgot to breathe and speak for a moment.
What people see today.
The purple air stretches endlessly, vast and majestic, spreading out like a long river.
From west to east, it is thirty thousand miles.
Directly pointing to the capital.
In the capital city, thousands of craftsmen worked tirelessly, desperately to process and rush the work. Huge square stones were dug out from the quarry, and then carried by trained strong men and quickly pieced together. Right in the center of the capital city, a huge arena was created in a very short time.
Be it Buddhism, Taoism, aristocratic families, military generals, or ordinary people, all of them are paying attention to this matter. Not to mention the many peddlers and hawkers who sell things, they will come here to take a look from time to time. Even the most naughty children will stare at this huge arena in a daze.
They knew that this seemed to determine whether they would shave their hair in the future.
It decided whether or not he could live with his childhood sweetheart, blushing amid the jokes of his elders.
In their cognition, there is nothing grand and great, just these trivial things, such as not being able to eat drunken dates, not being able to wear too conspicuous clothes, shaving the head, and scarring the head with burning incense, not being able to eat meat, etc. However, when all these trivial things are put together, they become a big thing that even children understand.
The Human Emperor still sits high up in the attic.
Sixteen monks, some compassionate and some gentle, sat cross-legged at one end of the imperial city, wearing ordinary simple robes. They all had a strong Buddhist flavor, which was powerful, yet compassionate and gentle. Those Buddhist practitioners who could overcome the eight difficulties of Taoism and reach the bodhisattva realm have all walked their own path and have their own understanding of the Buddhas' teachings.
The cultivation of this body is not false.
The reason why I came here is nothing but time, luck and fate.
Because they all recognize the great goals of Buddhism and the vast Buddhist community, they have come together under this goal and are obsessed with it, believing that for the sake of this ultimate absolutely just and absolutely correct result, some cruel means and mistakes in the process are not unacceptable.
They even took some special elixir for a short period of time, which suppressed their realm and cultivation, and showed that they were just ordinary Buddhist monks, without the state of Bodhisattvas, who were not affected by cause and effect and had mastered the realm of freedom and wonderful existence of all Buddhist teachings, in order to superficially conform to the Buddhist theory of this time.
One of the monks opened his eyes slightly, and scanned the living beings around him, like looking at plants and trees. Looking at plants and trees is heartless, and looking at all living beings is the same; looking at all living beings is compassionate, and looking at plants and trees is the same.
The Taoist sect seemed to know that there was something wrong with these Buddhist monks whose names had never been heard of in the past.
Most of the eminent monks and great virtues of the past few hundred years are not among them.
If he was not an ascetic monk who had been practicing in seclusion until now, he must be a famous monk from hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Ordinary Taoists would definitely not be a match for such a monk. At this moment, in the Taoist land, there was only one person sitting cross-legged with a sword in hand, drinking by himself, looking unrestrained and free-spirited, but he smiled and said, "You all look like my old friends. Would you like some wine to moisten your throat?"
The monks did not answer.
The monks' eyes were fixed on the Taoist who was drinking by himself and was quite unrestrained. They recognized that they had seen this immortal from the Upper Cave in the Heavenly Palace before. He was full of pure yang energy and had reached the level of True Lord, which was quite high among the True Lords. But one day, he fell into the eight tribulations of love again, and continued to fall from the level of True Lord, and finally fell into the level of Earthly Immortal. It was said that due to his dissolute lifestyle, he no longer had the foundation to prove his status as a True Lord.
However, what we see today is that its edge is clearly revealed, and seems to be three times stronger than before.
But it is clear that he has gradually overcome the eight difficulties of love and is about to re-enter the realm of True Lord.
He was once a True Lord, fell into the eight tribulations, and then climbed back to his original realm. The True Lord who achieved this kind of realm is completely different from the ordinary True Lord who cultivated step by step. His realm is deeper and his foundation is thicker. Those who had such experiences in the past have all achieved the Emperor realm.
Behind this Lu Chunyang was the military leader Li Zhai, who was wearing armor.
He looked indifferent and calmly at the monks in front of him, as if he was also looking at the Human Emperor behind the monks. This place was the hinterland of the Nine Provinces of the Central Plains and also the capital of the world. It was originally the place where humanity was most prosperous. Coupled with the previous struggle between the Human Emperor and Li Zhai, the atmosphere here had already accumulated to the extreme.
With the strength of the monks, they could almost see with their naked eyes the roaring, boundless anger and powerful human destiny, as if a tiger had grown wings, roaring to the sky, shocking everyone around. Even the Bodhisattvas could not help but sigh in their hearts, clasping their hands together and saying to themselves: "What good destiny!"
"As expected, humanity should prevail!"
"Yes, this kind of fortune is like firewood. The era of great prosperity for our Buddhist sect is about to come."
"Yes, yes, it is time for our Buddha to flourish!"
A blue dragon and a fierce tiger, two forces of humanity gathered together, facing each other, and it seemed that they could explode at any time. With a strong man hitting the gong hard, a piercing sound rose up and spread in all directions. A cold light flashed in Lu Dongbin's eyes, and he threw the wine pot in his hand backwards.
He staggered to his feet, holding the sword in one hand and pointing the other hand forward, and said loudly:
"I wonder which Buddhist master gave me this advice!"
The Bodhisattvas slowly opened their eyes, and their gazes all fell on Lu Dongbin.
It was as if the destiny of Buddhism, the foundation of Taoism, and all the joys and sorrows, separations and reunions, and prosperity of the human world for hundreds of years to come, all depended on this one person. Even if he was defeated, he had to give it all he could. On that day, Lu Chunyang of the Taoist sect fought against more than a dozen Buddhist Bodhisattvas who had hidden their identities.
One of the monks stood up, put his hands together and walked forward, saying calmly: "I practice Buddhism and do not have other supernatural powers. I only know emptiness, falsehood, and the nothingness of all things. Today, the first battle will be between me and you. Let's discuss emptiness."
The second monk immediately stood up, clasped his hands together, had a strange and ancient appearance, and spoke in a voice as deep as thunder, saying: "I have not practiced in any way, and have not achieved many supernatural powers, but my concentration is acceptable. I can sit here, thunder strikes, flames burn the city, but my heart, spirit, mind, and Dharma do not move."
The third monk also continued to answer.
Even the sixteen monks and bodhisattvas all gave reasons for the competition, from cultivation to comprehension, to profound knowledge, to concentration and mind, sixteen monks, one was competing for luck and to determine who was better. At this moment, even the ordinary people around who had no cultivation and did not know the realm knew how difficult this competition was for the Taoist priest.
These monks must be extremely powerful to be able to stand here, and the topics of the competition they proposed must be the ones they are best at, the most powerful things, and the ones they are most confident of winning.
He was the only one from the Taoist sect.
In other words, Lu Chunyang must defeat the sixteen monks who are best at these things in sixteen fields, and surpass the strongest Buddhists in sixteen fields, in order to win. He must win at least nine times, in a round-robin battle, in a continuous battle, and even defeat the strongest monks alone.
"It's over, it's over... Is there only one person like this in the Dao Sect?!"
"In that case, wouldn't it be better to shave your hair in advance?!"
"Damn it, the Dao Sect is also considered a sect in my homeland? It sounds nice on weekdays, but at this moment, it can't even produce a dozen accomplished practitioners to participate in the competition?!"
"Alas, that's not the case. Maybe this Taoist priest is powerful enough to fight ten people alone?"
"Huh? I don't think it's possible to fight ten people alone. Besides, if he wasn't sure, why would the general agree to it? Isn't this setting us up?!"
There were many noisy voices in the crowd. Some were genuinely disappointed, while others were just the rebellion of the noble families. There was so much noise that the whole place was in turmoil. Even if the soldiers of the military strategists angrily tried to stop them, they could not stop their voices. At the highest point far away from here, in the Zhaixing Tower, the old monk put his hands together and said gently:
"It's like hitting a rock with an egg."
"No matter how famous this Lu Chunyang is, how much he has achieved in Taoism, or how much he has cultivated, he will definitely be defeated now. Your Majesty, you can rest assured."
"Lü Chunyang has been defeated, and the Dao Sect has also been defeated."
"Not to mention that many fellow practitioners have already reached the strongest level in these aspects; just fighting alone against many, Lu Chunyang will lose one point; using his own weakness to attack the strengths of the Buddhas, he will lose another point; using an earthly immortal to attack sixteen Bodhisattvas, he will lose a third point. Before the battle even begins, the Taoist sect has already lost three points. For Your Majesty, this battle is just a battle that must be won."
After a long time, the Human Emperor said, "Is that so..."
But when the discussion began afterwards, it exceeded everyone's expectations.
Lu Chunyang, with the body of an earthly immortal, defeated three monks in a row.
Unparalleled in discussion and fighting, and extraordinary eloquence!
Previously, everyone had no hope for Lu Chunyang, and were pessimistic about the future; but when they saw the Taoist winning three times in a row, they couldn't help but cheer for him. His momentum was huge, and the fortune of humanity was skewed. The Human Emperor Li Hui looked a little cold. The old monk looked at the monk and the Taoist who were trying to test their concentration, and how they used illusions to disrupt their opponents while trying to keep their own minds as calm as water, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
It seems that you have also experienced tribulation, and you also want to use this matter to ascend to the heaven again and return to the pure yang and empty state.
But, unfortunately...
The destiny of humanity is connected with Buddha.
Please come down, fellow Taoist.
He moved his wrist slightly, as if picking up a flower, and immediately a bug appeared in his hand.
It was a strange insect, a scorpion. Even if one had the indestructible body of Buddha or the pure body of Heavenly Venerable, being stung by this scorpion would be extremely painful. Even with a strong physique, it would take half a day to recover. With a slight movement of his wrist, he said "go away". The scorpion turned into a streak of light and flew behind Lu Chunyang. Just a sting made Lu Chunyang's face change suddenly.
He could still endure it, but suddenly the second and third blows came, and Lu Dongbin could no longer bear it. He let out a low shout, his mind flickered, and sword energy escaped. The Bodhisattva took advantage of the situation to counterattack, and his face turned pale, and blood came out of the corners of his mouth. All the monks in the Buddhist sect shouted in unison, "He wins!"
"Um?!!"
Li Zhai glanced around, drew his sword, and killed the scorpion in an instant, but he saw that Lu Chunyang's face was pale and weak. It was obvious that he had been plotted against and felt a chill in his heart. The monks in front were smiling, and the cheering sounds around froze in an instant. People saw that the Taoist who had been so elegant before was sitting cross-legged on the ground with difficulty, his face was pale, and they couldn't believe it for a moment.
Lost?
How could I lose like this?!
And it looks like he was seriously injured and can no longer fight...
The smile from before was still on his face, but it froze in an instant.
The monks were full of pride. Li Hui also exhaled slowly and raised his eyes to look at the world.
This world is mine after all...
He murmured, "Fourth brother, you have been defeated, and the Dao Sect has also been defeated. I am the one who has been chosen by heaven... The purple air in the sky is like the Purple Star descending to the world, isn't it so?"
The old monk looked at the situation below calmly and saw that the overall situation had been decided - the sixteen Bodhisattvas attacked together, and there was also himself. Many immortals in the human world were in heaven and could not come to the human world. The human world's Taoist forces were powerless to fight back.
He was smiling, but suddenly he was startled.
Um?!
Purple air?!
He suddenly raised his head and looked at the sky in the distance. His pupils suddenly contracted, and the Bodhisattvas did the same. In an instant, all the practitioners of Buddhism and Taoism noticed the boundless purple air, which was luxurious and dignified, yet had the purity and majesty of Taoism, slowly and peacefully overturning them.
In a twinkling, it had spread to the sky above the capital city, and in an instant, the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism solidified.
The expressions of the thirteen Bodhisattvas suddenly changed.
This kind of purple air was vast and majestic, carrying with it the Taoist aura of purity and freedom, which made them sense the crisis instantly.
They all displayed the majesty of Buddhism, showed the appearance of Bodhisattvas, and displayed their magical powers. The Buddha's light shot up into the sky, trying to cover the imperial capital on earth. At this moment, everyone realized that the enemies before them were all Arhats and Bodhisattvas in the sky. The boundless Buddha's light almost turned this place into a Buddhist scene, with flowers falling from the sky and golden lotuses surging from the ground. Everyone almost felt despair, even the Mingzhen Taoist Alliance.
How can we defeat these powerful Buddhists with our human strength?
In just the next moment, the Buddha's light shattered and the Bodhisattva's image turned into nothingness.
Thirteen Bodhisattvas, three hundred Arhats, five hundred Vajras, and all the monks and samaneras all coughed up blood and retreated violently.
The Buddha's light dissipated, leaving only the vast and majestic purple energy.
Purple air comes from the east for thirty thousand miles.
In a moment.
The battle between Buddhism and Taoism has been decided!
The winner is determined——
And the people haven't arrived yet!
A moment of dead silence!
Everyone was at a loss.
The old monk's face suddenly changed, and he stared at the front. In the purple cloud sea that seemed to extend to the farthest place and extend to the morning light of the sun, a Taoist priest sat on a green ox, holding an Eight Scenery Palace Lantern and a whisk on his arm, and came slowly step by step. The boundless and magnificent momentum accumulated to the extreme, and then exploded, pure and free, yet vast and boundless.
Holding a whisk, riding a green ox, and holding an Eight-Scenes Palace Lantern.
"Grand disciple..."
The old monk's heart was in turmoil.
At this moment, the green ox carried the Taoist priest to the capital city, and the Taoist priest, who had lowered his eyes, raised his head.
A pair of cold star-like eyes instantly met the old monk's.
Among the Eight Scenery Palace Lanterns, the lights suddenly lit up.
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