In Jiangzhou City, a tall wandering monk, holding a Zen staff and a copper bowl, was walking on the street, looking dusty and exhausted.
Although his monk's robes were worn and his face looked quite immature, he was strong and had a sturdy temperament. When he walked on the street, even the thugs in the alleys did not dare to provoke him.
The soldiers who interrogated him at the city gate simply checked his monkhood certificate and then politely let him into the city.
When talking about monkhood and ordination certificates, we have to mention the incident eight years ago when the Buddha appeared and the dragons passed on their skills.
Since then, the abbot of Jinshan Temple has attached great importance to Nie Changchuan. He not only shaved his head for him and gave him a Buddhist name, but he also used his connections to help him obtain a formal monk status and certificate so that he could leave the temple openly in the future.
From this perspective, although the abbot of Jinshan Temple had selfish motives, he was not bad to Nie Changchuan.
Taking this into consideration, after questioning the abbot, Nie Changchuan discovered that he was lying, but he did not get angry. He just changed his plan of asking for the blood letter to looking for the blood letter in Jinshan Temple.
But he didn't expect that the abbot had hidden it so deeply.
Nie Changchuan searched for three full months before he finally found a secret box on the lotus platform beneath the Buddha's seat. Inside was his mother's undershirt from this life and a letter written in blood.
After getting these two things, Nie Changchuan finally went down the mountain and went to Jiangzhou to seek revenge.
The reason why it took so long is not only because it is difficult to repay the master's kindness, but also partly because of the technique.
The method he practiced was called "Eight Divisions of Heavenly Beings and Dragons", which included eight divisions of magical powers: one is the heavenly beings, two is the dragon beings, three is the Yakshas, four is the Gandharvas, five is the Asuras, six is the Garudas, seven is the Kinnaras and eight is the Mahoragas.
Nie Changchuan made little progress in the Celestial Phase, and after wasting three years, he still achieved nothing.
It was not until he skipped the Heavenly Phase and directly practiced the Dragon Phase that he made rapid progress and his cultivation increased day by day.
But there is a disadvantage to doing so, that is, for seven days every month, he will transform from a human into a celestial dragon. Although the celestial dragon is majestic and powerful, it is not a human after all. If it walks on the human world, problems are inevitable.
It was not until three months ago that he had achieved the highest level of Dragon Form, which finally made up for his shortcomings and allowed him to control it freely.
At the same time, his cultivation has reached the Vajra Realm in Buddhism and he is only one step away from becoming an Arhat.
To make a simple comparison, his master, Monk Fa Ming, is probably three major realms lower than him, and the abbot is two major realms lower than him.
Converted to the level of cultivation in this small world, it is probably a powerful human being below the immortal level.
Coupled with the magic weapons such as the Zen staff and bronze bowl that he had inexplicably found in Jinshan Temple over the years, as well as the powerful magical powers possessed by the Eight Heavenly Dragons, Nie Changchuan's combat power can be said to be "I am invincible below the immortals, and I can exchange one for one with those above the immortals"!
Of course, this immortal refers to the immortal in the small world, not the real immortal in the main world.
If we really compare them, the most powerful immortals and Buddhas in this world are actually just true immortals.
Compared with the world of immortal cultivation, ordinary immortals are probably at the stage of refining emptiness to the stage of fusion.
The main reason why Nie Changchuan was able to cultivate to such a level in just eight years, in addition to the selfless gifts from some powerful beings in the upper realm, was his amazing talent in both soul and body.
Moreover, as the original divine consciousness, he did not encounter any bottlenecks during his cultivation.
Monk Fa Ming knew that his cultivation had improved by leaps and bounds, and thought that he was at most similar to the abbot's. However, Nie Changchuan swung out with one palm, and instantly razed the area within a hundred meters to the ground. This shocked him so much that he was stunned and speechless.
In Jiangzhou City, Nie Changchuan walked through the streets and alleys and soon found his target. He helped a noodle stall owner drive away the troublemakers and then politely offered him a bowl of vegetarian noodles.
The noodle stall owner had a melancholy look on his face, thinking that after the monk left, those thugs would still come to cause trouble.
But even so, he put aside his worries and gave Nie Changchuan a bowl of plain noodles with a smile on his face.
After eating and drinking his fill, Nie Changchuan saluted the noodle stall owner with one hand raised, then strode to the end of the street, stretched out his big hand, grabbed two thugs from a teahouse, beat them up in the street, and forced them to tell him where their base was.
Afterwards, under the gaze of the neighbors, the tall monk held a copper staff as thick as a child's arm in his right hand, grabbed a big man by the collar with his left hand, and carried him towards the local gang base in Jiangzhou City as if he was grabbing a chicken.
Soon, Nie Changchuan left the thugs behind, pushed open the door, looked at the ferocious and stunned local gang members in the door, put one hand in front of his chest, and chanted: "Amitabha!"
After saying this, Nie Changchuan picked up his Zen stick and rushed into the gambling house without hesitation.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
After the muffled sounds of blood and flesh and shrill screams, Nie Changchuan walked out of the gambling house, wiped the blood off his Zen stick with a piece of black cloth that was obviously clothing, then grasped the thick hemp rope in his left hand and pulled it hard.
“Hua La La—”
Suddenly, there were sounds of chairs falling over and tables turning over in the gambling house.
A series of big men with bruised faces and noses and their arms bound with hemp ropes filed out from the crowd.
Nie Changchuan held the Zen staff in his right hand and the hemp rope in his left hand. He glanced at the people behind him and said, "You donors have been rampant in this village and have committed many evil deeds. I should have sent you to see the Buddha in the West Heaven, but for the sake of the laws of the Tang Dynasty and the order of the world, I still have to give you a few more chances to survive."
"Come on, fellow donors, follow me to see the official..."
After saying this, Nie Changchuan ignored the wailing of the people behind him, and just pulled the rope, dragging dozens of burly men onto the street with his own strength, and headed to the government office in full view of everyone.
Many neighbors stood by the roadside, staring blankly at the scene before them.
The boss who gave Nie Changchuan a bowl of vegetarian noodles was stunned and excitedly shouted that it was the Buddha's appearance.
Nie Changchuan paused when he heard his words, looked at him seriously and said, "It's better to worship me than to worship Buddha."
After saying this, he did not explain the meaning of this sentence, and just dragged the many thugs towards the front, leaving the noodle stall owner standing there, staring at his back with wide eyes, unable to figure out whether this guy was a monk or not.
It was a scholar at the noodle stall who heard the Zen meaning in Nie Changchuan's words and explained that the "I" here refers to the boss himself.
But unfortunately, the noodle stall owner could not bear to hear such Zen wisdom, and only wrote down the literal meaning. He secretly promised to make a Buddha statue for this eminent monk in the future, place it at home, and worship it every day.
Along the way, the ruffians barely recovered their strength, gritted their teeth, and put all their efforts into fighting the monks in front of them.
But unfortunately, these people were just mortals who knew a little bit of fighting and fighting, and they were unable to resist Nie Changchuan, who possessed the power of a heavenly dragon.
No matter whether they worked together to play tug-of-war with Nie Changchuan, or grabbed the surrounding houses and protrusions on the ground on the way, it was of no avail. They could only watch themselves being dragged forward with despair on their faces.
It was not until they reached the gate of the yamen that the local military officer and a large number of soldiers came upon hearing the news and stared in amazement at the spectacular scene at the gate.
After coming to his senses, he calmed down his inner shock and came to the monk in the front.
As soon as he saw the tall monk, the soldier praised in his heart, "What a brave man!"
Then, he asked in a gentle voice, "I wonder why the mage came here?"
Nie Changchuan chanted a Buddhist name and said calmly, "My Buddhist name is Xuanzang, and I am a disciple of Monk Faming from Jinshan Temple. I came to Jiangzhou City to look for my relatives, but I encountered a robber on the road. I know a little bit of fighting, so I was forced to take action and captured them all. Now I am handing them over to the government for disposal..."
Many big men stared at Nie Changchuan's back with their eyes wide open in disbelief, as if they had not expected this monk to be so dignified and solemn, and to be able to lie without blushing or getting nervous.
What kind of thugs are robbing the road and being forced to take action...
It's you who came to our door and forcibly arrested us, right?!
Many burly men opened their eyes wide and started cursing.
But unfortunately, all their good teeth were broken by Nie Changchuan. No matter how aggrieved they felt at this moment, they could only whimper.
Nie Changchuan's eyes turned cold, and he immediately pounded the hundred-pound Zen stick in his right hand to the ground.
“Bang!”
The bluestone shattered, and the demon-subduing pestle at the end of the staff sank deeply into the ground.
The group of big men were all captivated by it and quickly shut their mouths tightly.
Even the soldier was startled by Nie Changchuan and asked quickly, "So you are Master Xuanzang from Jinshan Temple. I wonder if you are a monk?"
"That's natural."
Nie Changchuan took out the certificate of ordination and handed it to a scholar beside the military officer to look at.
After the scholar had read it, he returned it to Nie Changchuan and nodded, saying, "The certificate is correct."
The military officer nodded and waved his hand. The hundred or so soldiers who came with him immediately stepped forward and arrested the dozens of ruffians.
The soldier bowed and smiled, "Thank you, Master, for getting rid of the evil for the people. I wonder how many days you will stay in Jiangzhou City?"
"My wife, the governor, is suffering from a strange disease. He is worried about her day and night. Whenever a Taoist priest passes by, he always invites them to his house to help take a look at the strange disease of his wife."
"I see that the Master does not look like an ordinary person. Do you have the ability to govern the world?"
Nie Changchuan placed his palm in front of his chest and said calmly, "Amitabha, I have come all the way from Jinshan Temple. I have subdued demons and eliminated violence. As for the art of hanging pots, I also know a thing or two. I can help you share your worries."
The soldier showed a delighted expression and said hastily, "That's great. Master, please come and have a chat with me!"