A temple is a place where believers can pray with peace of mind, and everyone who comes here hopes to find spiritual sustenance.

The rising smoke and the sound of chanting lingering in your ears bring a feeling of cleansing your whole body, making you feel refreshed and comfortable.

Immersed in the tranquil atmosphere of the temple, one can feel a state beyond time and space. This state purifies the mind and enhances the spiritual sense of far-reachingness unconsciously.

Mr. Chen said he was staying overnight and he never left the room after entering it.

On the second day of his stay, when many monks were busy with their own things, Chen Sheng was still quietly staying in the room arranged for him by Master Changjie.

He was also immersed in this sense of spiritual transcendence that transcends time and space.

While listening to the ethereal sound of chanting that seemed to be right next to my ears, I placed my hand on the wooden box on the table and felt it carefully.

After meeting Xuanzang yesterday, he simply introduced himself and was not in a hurry to communicate too much.

After all, he came here for some other things.

During those days at Nalanda Monastery, he spent a long time discussing the spiritual practice system with Master Jiexian.

In the end, not only did he make some improvements to his spiritual power system, but he also figured out some tricks of his own.

If he only relied on the power of the spiritual practice system, he could achieve his goal with less time and space disturbance threshold consumption.

For example, the wooden box in front of him now contained three strands of monster vitality that he had just captured. He had tried to capture them using the power of his spiritual practice system, and the threshold of space-time disturbance consumed was indeed much lower.

At this moment, he is using the power of his spiritual practice system to mobilize the surrounding power of faith to maintain the suppression and seal of the vitality of these three monsters.

This is exactly what he said, what else needs to be done after arriving at Pure Land Temple.

The birth of the spiritual practice system is inseparable from faith, so it is naturally very compatible with the power of faith and can slightly mobilize the inert power of faith.

Simply mobilizing the power of faith to maintain the seal on the three monsters' vitality would save Chen Sheng a lot of energy.

Although the huge mass of monster vitality in Master Jiexian's body cannot be eliminated by the power of faith alone, it must be suppressed with the assistance of a spiritual practice system.

But if it's just these three strands of monster vitality, then the power of faith is still quite powerful.

As he was thinking, Chen Sheng let the power of his spiritual practice system that had been cultivated to the sixth consciousness spread out, carefully sensing the three strands of monster vitality sealed in the wooden box.

At present, the three strands of monster vitality are constantly hitting the wall in the wooden box seal, and there is no possibility of escape.

The power of the spiritual practice system engraved on the wooden box and the endless irrigation of faith from the outside world make the monster as lively as a frost-bitten eggplant.

After escaping, the three strands of monster vitality possessed the monkey, wild boar and catfish. After being extracted by Chen Sheng again, their appearance still retained the appearance of these three wild animals.

They tried to break through the obstacles and performed various movements. The three beasts bared their fangs and kept biting at the barrier sealed by the wooden box.

But the result was only failure.

And after Chen Sheng used the spiritual power of the sixth consciousness realm to guide the power of faith, the continuous irrigation of faith made the seal of the wooden box, which was already difficult to break, even stronger.

After feeling roughly that there was no problem, Mr. Chen looked at the open door behind him with a slight smile.

Xuanzang was standing at the door holding food on a wooden board.

Seeing Chen Sheng discover him, Xuanzang was stunned for a moment, then quickly explained: "I just got here not long ago, and I saw you were absorbed in your thoughts, so I didn't disturb you..."

"It's okay, come here."

Mr. Chen smiled and waved to Xuanzang.

Seeing this, Xuanzang breathed a sigh of relief and said as he approached, "Master Changjie saw that you had stayed in your room and had not come out, so he asked me to bring you food."

"Thank you, Master Xuanzang."

Mr. Chen took the food with a smile and placed it on the wooden table.

And Xuanzang couldn't help but grinning after hearing Chen Sheng's address.

Although he was still young, he could tell that Chen Sheng's words about Master Xuanzang were not a joke like those of his second brother and the others, but a very serious evaluation.

This made Xuanzang, who had been very happy ever since he passed the examination to become a monk, even happier.

Looking at Xuanzang with a smile on his face, Chen Sheng had a thought in his mind. Perhaps his arrival could make this child smile a little longer.

This year is 615 AD, and Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty has been fighting a desperate battle with Goguryeo for three years.

Not only did he gain nothing, but he also lost a large number of elite troops. He finally decided to give up fighting Goguryeo.

However, after three years of fighting, the huge consumption in all aspects, coupled with the various problems that existed in the past, made it difficult to reverse the situation. The Sui Dynasty was already in chaos, with peasant armies everywhere starting to revolt.

No matter how big a country is, it will perish if it is warlike.

Even if the world is at peace, forgetting war will lead to danger.

From then on, until the reign of Li Tang, there would be years of war and chaos. I'm afraid that Xuanzang would never smile like this again.

In this regard, Mr. Chen had complicated thoughts.

Mr. Chen always felt that the reason why Xuanzang embarked on the journey to the West was.

It is not just to sort out the complicated, confusing and inconsistent Buddhist traditions and to go to the place where Buddhism originated to seek a unified and final explanation.

Most likely it is for the common people.

Xuanzang lived in a war-torn period between two dynasties, and his own experiences were full of ups and downs. He saw too many things that happened to the people.

Perhaps, it was because of the solution in his heart that would save all living beings that he embarked on the journey of finding the answer with unprecedented perseverance.

Looking at Chen Sheng in deep thought, Xuanzang waved his hand in front of Chen Sheng curiously: "Donor Chen? Is today's vegetarian meal not tasty enough?"

Xuanzang couldn't help but think as he spoke.

The vegetables in the vegetarian hall today were really delicious, and the vegetarian noodles were also kneaded quite chewy. I just don’t know what this donor Chen was dissatisfied with.

"No."

After hearing this, Mr. Chen came to his senses, silently put the wooden box on the table on his waist, picked up the chopsticks and started eating.

Xuanzang, who was standing by, couldn't help but glance at the wooden box on Chen Sheng's waist with curiosity.

Carved railings and jade bricks are generally used to describe buildings, but Xuanzang felt that this palm-sized wooden box could also be described with this word.

The various carvings on the wooden box are lifelike and look quite charming.

Just the simple coloring makes people feel as if it is really inlaid with jade.

This kind of high-end feeling was something that even Xuanzang had never seen before he became a monk.

You should know that the Chen family that Xuanzang belonged to before he became a monk had also been a family of scholars for generations. From the ancestors in the Eastern Han Dynasty to Xuanzang's grandfather, they had always lived a fairly good life and were a typical family of officials.

It was when his father left officialdom in his later years for the sake of literary integrity that the family fell into decline.

So Xuanzang had actually seen a lot of the world when he was a child, but even he had never heard of such a small wooden box.

Xuanzang was certain that the decorative patterns were so exquisite and detailed that even the top sculptors and painters of the time would not be able to reproduce them.

In other words, even if the current emperor were to search the national treasury, he would never find such exquisitely carved objects.

Seeing this, Chen Sheng took out the wooden box from his waist again, put it on the table, and pushed it in front of Xuanzang.

"Why, are you curious?"

Mr. Chen asked with a smile.

As Chen Sheng pushed the wooden box closer to Xuanzang, the three strands of monster vitality sealed in it were obviously excited for a moment, trying to break through the barrier of the wooden box seal.

But Chen Sheng's eyes were sharp for only a moment, and the powerful pressure made the three monsters lose their vitality again.

"Um!"

Xuanzang nodded, and his eyes lit up as he looked at the wooden box in front of him.

Normally, he not only likes to recite Buddhist scriptures and eat.

If he did not have curiosity and pioneering spirit, he would not have resolutely embarked on the journey westward in history.

"Then let me show you carefully?"

As Mr. Chen spoke, he picked up the wooden box and placed it in Xuanzang's hand.

Hearing this, Xuanzang took it subconsciously.

Then he couldn't help but look her up and down carefully.

While playing with it at such a close distance, Xuanzang discovered details that he had not noticed when he took a quick look before.

That is a line of words written in Sanskrit: Only consciousness has no boundaries.

As a genius who was well versed in Buddhism, Xuanzang was not unfamiliar with this Sanskrit sentence and roughly understood its meaning.

This also made Xuanzang like the small wooden box more and more.

But the more I watch it, the more I like it.

But Xuanzang only played with the wooden box for a short while and then returned it to Chen Sheng.

After all, this is not his thing.

"Donor Chen, could you please tell me who carved the wooden box?"

There was expectation in Xuanzang's words.

The young and innocent Xuanzang had no other thoughts. At this moment, he just wanted to know who such a powerful person was.

"It's far away, yet it's right before your eyes."

Mr. Chen put the wooden box back to his waist and immediately met Xuanzang's inquiring gaze.

"Want to learn? I'll teach you!"

Mr. Chen continued to say something mischievously.

And his words obviously stunned Xuanzang.

After a long silence, Xuanzang spoke again.

"Then the sentence above..."

Xuanzang asked this question subconsciously.

The sentence "Only consciousness has no boundaries" is really interesting and has a certain Zen meaning. Just by looking at this sentence, Xuanzang felt that he could feel the earnest teachings of a Buddhist master in his ears.

"That's coming from a master who deserves admiration."

When Mr. Chen said this, his expression became obviously more serious.

This wooden box was jointly created by him and Master Jiexian. Its purpose was to help him seal the life of escaped monsters and minimize the consumption of seals to maintain the life of captured monsters.

But soon, Mr. Chen could no longer maintain his serious expression and changed the subject.

"By the way, do you really not want to learn from me?"

Mr. Chen placed the wooden box in front of Xuanzang with a slightly smiling expression on his face.

"Xuanzang is just curious about carving. I still have some unfinished business, so I can't easily become your disciple."

Xuanzang politely shook his head to refuse.

He really liked the carvings on the wooden box, but he also really wanted to refuse.

He was not bound by various rules or his newly ordained status.

But it is because becoming a disciple is not something that can be taken lightly and it has a very deep meaning.

Moreover, at this moment, he has vaguely found some unshakable goals in life.

Although he couldn't clearly explain what he wanted to pursue now, he already had a vague idea.

"What about this?"

Mr. Chen chuckled and suddenly shook the wooden box in his hand.

The next moment, a sharp and panicked sound of monkeys and pigs came from the wooden box.

Seeing this, Xuanzang’s eyes widened suddenly.

What is the nature of Buddha? Can mortals eventually become Buddhas? How can we save the common people? Does the afterlife really exist? There is no sufficiently accurate answer to these questions in Buddhist scriptures, and no explanation from a monk could convince Xuanzang.

For a monk, this is a kind of confusion rooted in the depths of his soul.

The young Xuanzang already understood that he might spend his entire life trying to resolve the confusion in his heart and seek the meaning of life.

Therefore, although Xuanzang loved the amazing carving skills, he did not want to agree to learn from that man.

He has an inexplicable obsession with Buddhism.

In the limited time he had, he wanted to do something more in the field of Buddhism.

but……

This thought only lasted until Mr. Chen shook the wooden box in front of him.

When the wooden box began to shake in front of him, a strange cry suddenly came from it, which made him open his eyes wide.

Is it a magic trick?

But what is the principle behind this? Most importantly, why does this strange sound that sounds like a monkey or a pig always make him feel creepy and shudder? !

Or was it that this was exactly the scene in the legend of strange things, with the wooden box containing monkey monsters and pig monsters? The more Xuanzang thought about it, the more confused he became.

After swallowing subconsciously, Xuanzang fell into a long silence.

"You really don't want to learn?"

Seeing that Xuanzang was in a daze, Chen Sheng smiled and shook the wooden box in his hand.

This time he shook it harder, and then another strange cry was heard.

This time the strange cry seemed much more urgent.

Xuanzang might not understand, but Mr. Chen could naturally understand it all.

The three strands of monster life in the wooden box have developed wild instincts since they parasitized the monkey, wild boar and catfish.

Even after he pulled it out of the bodies of the three mutated monsters, it still instinctively made the sound of a parasite to express its emotions.

At this moment, they were howling excitedly because of Chen Sheng's shaking.

If the meaning of each emotion were translated, they would definitely be the dirtiest swear words.

After Chen Sheng intentionally released them, the sounds of monkeys and pigs that could be heard by Xuanzang were clearly heard by Xuanzang.

In response to this, Xuanzang remained silent for a while.

Seeing this, Mr. Chen threw the wooden box directly at Xuanzang.

Xuanzang quickly caught it.

The moment the wooden box suddenly stopped in his hand, the strange cry coming from the wooden box stopped abruptly, and then there were a few more urgent strange cries.

Seeing Chen Sheng's casual look.

Xuanzang tentatively shook the wooden box gently, and then kept changing the speed.

Listening to the strange cries in the wooden box that changed in volume exactly according to the amplitude of his shaking, the light in Xuanzang's eyes became brighter and brighter.

Combined with the fact that these strange noises make me feel creepy every time they appear.

Xuanzang gradually confirmed one thing.

This is definitely not just a trick.

Could it be that there really are some demons or monsters sealed in this wooden box?

As he was thinking, Xuanzang couldn't help but cast his inquiring eyes towards Chen Sheng in front of him.

"This is not a long story. Are you interested in listening to me tell it?"

Mr. Chen said in response to Xuanzang's inquiring gaze.

Asking for monthly tickets～asking for rewards～

(End of this chapter)