...
Ao Ren came to Yulai Temple in Bailu City. Although Yulai Temple is called a "temple", it is actually not a monk's temple at all.
Because under the Tang Dynasty's policy of destroying Buddhism, no monk dares to show up openly.
Apart from Shu County, if monks or temples appeared in other places in the Tang Dynasty, they would not only have to face the Tang Dynasty government, but also Taoist monks.
It is very clear at this point that Yulai Temple is actually a Buddhist temple opened by Taoist priests to receive believers left behind by the monks.
The abbot of Yulai Temple was a mysterious figure. Ao Ren couldn't tell how advanced he was, but a conservative estimate was that he was at least at the Yang Shen realm, and at most, a True Immortal. He had no Taoist name or name; Ao Ren only knew that the monks at Yulai Temple called him "Old Taoist Li."
However, out of caution, Ao Ren still classified Li Laodao as having the same level of cultivation as himself.
This time, Ao Ren came to Yulai Temple to find Taoist Li, mainly to ask him for help, but not to ask him to help deal with Hu Meng.
Regardless of whether Yulai Temple has a Buddhist or Taoist background, you, Ao Ren, as an immortal official of the Heavenly Court, contact Taoist or Buddhist monks to deal with another immortal official of the Heavenly Court. This is not extraordinary wisdom, but a sign of being tired of living.
So when Liu Qingxia proposed to join forces with the people from Yulai Temple to deal with Hu Meng, Ao Ren immediately rejected the proposal.
He knew very well that no matter how he and Hu Meng disagreed, it was at best a personal grudge between two immortal officials. If it was exposed, he would only suffer a little in the Thunder Department.
But if he did as Liu Qingxia said, he might just feel that he had too many dragon tendons.
However, although he could not ask the people from Yulai Temple to help him, the Taoist monks were powerful and had many spells, so he could still ask them for advice to take back the Kuixing Inkstone.
When Ao Ren arrived at Yulai Temple, he happened to see the monks of Yulai Temple worshiping Buddha.
Although Yulai Temple was run by Taoist priests, it is small but has everything it needs. There are monks wearing robes, Buddha statues, and even Buddhist teachings.
However, they neither recite the Hinayana Buddhism nor the Mahayana Buddhism, but the brand new "Layayana Buddhism".
As for the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas they worshipped, it was even more outrageous. They were not the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in Buddhism at all, but some Buddhas and Bodhisattvas that Ao Ren had never heard of.
Standing outside the main hall, I saw the Taoist priest Li, wearing a cassock and a Buddhist hat, standing at the head of the hall and shouting to the monks inside: "Praise the great Buddha Tathagata."
Yes, the Buddha worshipped in Yulai Temple is called "Dafang Tathagata Buddha". Ao Ren looked into the hall and saw a Buddha statue standing in the middle of the hall.
The Buddha statue was wearing a Qingxia Yudou Qilin robe, with his right hand raised up holding a golden brick, and his left hand downward holding a precious pestle, his eyes wide open, and his mouth slightly open as he stared angrily at the front.
Then the sound of the monks chanting in the hall rang out: "Praise the great Tathagata Buddha, who suppresses demons and kills monsters and bites the Tao Buddha."
"Praise be to the great Tathagata Buddha, who patrols the four directions and does many things."
"Praise be to the great Tathagata Buddha, you are too obsessed with the heavenly rules."
"Praise be to the great Tathagata Buddha. Are the Heavenly Rules too long-winded?"
"Praise be to the generous Tathagata Buddha, you will never have a wife in your life."
“…”
If it were an ordinary person without any cultivation, he would probably think that they were chanting Buddhist scriptures, because ordinary people could not understand these Sanskrit sounds at all, even though they were the mediocre Sanskrit sounds of Taoist monks.
"The ceremony is over."
When the three incense sticks burned out, Taoist Li shouted loudly, and the monks finally stopped and stood up from their cushions.
"Let's drink, let's drink."
"I want to play chess. Who wants to play chess with me?"
"Go or chess?"
"Tic-Tac-toe."
“…”
"Anyone playing cards? Divine cards."
"I'll do it, I'll do it."
The monks came out of the main hall in groups of three or four. When they saw Ao Ren, they bowed and then left.
"Hey? Isn't this the Water Priest of Yanlai Lake?" Taoist Li came out with a whisk in his hand. "I apologize for not coming to greet you."
"...You don't look like a monk at all..." Ao Ren couldn't help but complain to Taoist Li.
Taoist Li laughed heartily and said, "It doesn't matter whether it's similar or not. Mortals just want to find a spiritual sustenance, to entrust a deity or Buddha to bless them, so that their sins can be eliminated when they worship. In fact, they don't care who they worship, as long as the deity is effective."
After saying this, Taoist Li said to Ao Ren, "Water Priest, please come into the hall and take a seat."
Ao Ren bowed his head and followed Taoist Li into the hall and sat down on the cushion.
As a Taoist boy in monk robes presented the spiritual tea, Ao Ren bowed and said, "I'm here to ask for advice, fellow Taoist."
"Oh?" Taoist Li asked curiously, "Did the Water Priest encounter any trouble?"
Ao Ren said, "To be honest, one of my magic weapons was stolen by Hu Meng from Dianxiang Mountain. Without it, I can't defeat him."
Upon hearing this, Taoist Li was immediately amazed and said, "He was able to steal your magic weapon? He really lives up to his name, quite powerful."
Ao Ren's face darkened and he said, "He used despicable means."
As he spoke, Ao Ren briefly recounted the origin of the Kuixing Inkstone and how it was stolen by Hu Meng.
After listening to this, Li Laodao immediately said, "You are surrounded by those indecent women. This result is expected. It's not surprising."
"..." Ao Ren took a deep breath, then bowed solemnly and asked: "Daoyou, do you have any way to help me get back the magic weapon? If you can help me get it back, I will definitely reward you handsomely!"
Upon hearing this, Taoist Li closed his eyes, counted on his fingers, and then shook his head. "I do have a way to help the Water Priest regain the magic weapon, but this magic weapon is not destined to belong to you, nor to Hu Meng. It belongs to someone else. I advise you not to take it back, or you will get yourself into big trouble."
"I'm not afraid." Ao Ren said, "As long as I can get the Kuixing Inkstone back from Hu Meng and vent my anger, I'm not afraid of any other troubles."
Taoist Li's expression suddenly became serious. He stared at Ao Ren as if he was looking at a brave man who was about to die bravely... "Water Priest is worthy of being the son and grandson of the dragon. I admire you. Well, since you have said so much, I can't help you."
After saying that, Taoist Li reached out and took out a magic weapon from his sleeve, a magic weapon that was shining with golden light.
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