Jiantao Mountain, Gucang Temple.
There has been incense burning here for thousands of years, the pagoda forest is quiet and the temple courtyard is majestic.
At this moment, the mountain bells are melodious, resounding inside and outside the temple, and the Buddhist chants are magnificent, clearing away the dark clouds in the sky.
In the center of the main hall of the Buddhist temple, more than ten monks in the realm of true immortals, wearing golden robes, stood in front of the Buddha statue, with compassionate faces and folded hands.
On both sides of the hall, there are dozens of monks in the Yangshen realm, chanting Buddhist mantras and the sound of Sanskrit resounding.
Finally, in the center of the hall, General Fan Heng, the commander of the catching and killing army, stood there with fifty divine generals. They looked up at the Buddha statue and then knelt down together.
After Fan Heng and others knelt down to worship the Buddha statue, a monk wearing a brocade robe, holding a demon-subduing pestle in his right hand and a sea-covering bowl in his left hand slowly walked out from the back hall of the Main Hall.
"Greetings, Abbot." When the monk walked to the center of the main hall and in front of Fan Heng and others, all the monks in the hall bowed and paid homage to him.
Fan Heng and the others also looked up, then bowed and said, "Greetings, Master."
It turned out that this monk was the abbot of Gucang Temple on Jianda Mountain, a disciple of Bodhisattva Baotanhua, the master of Gucang Cave, and also called Master Gucang.
Master Gu Cang lowered his eyebrows and glanced at Fan Heng and the others, then asked, "Have you made up your mind?"
Fan Heng immediately replied, "Master, we have transcended worldly desires and are willing to devote ourselves to cultivating and studying Buddhism."
Master Gu Cang sighed and said, "But you are a celestial official of the Heavenly Court. If I accept you, how will I explain it to the Heavenly Court?"
Fan Heng replied, "Master, be merciful. For the past thousand years, we have cultivated virtue with Gucang Temple, regulating the earth's veins and raising our fortunes. Master also promised that if we ever come to surrender, he would protect us."
Master Gu Cang's face turned bitter when he heard this. This is the law of cause and effect.
In the past, when he had reached the level of a Xuanxian, he came to Dongsheng Shenzhou to preach Buddhism and established the Gucang Temple on the Jianta Mountain. However, the temple was new and had few visitors, and the spiritual energy of the Jianta Mountain was not outstanding.
Later, Fan Heng was chased here while catching a big monster. Master Gu Cang decisively took down the monster and handed it to Fan Heng, and thus they became connected.
In order to repay Master Gu Cang, Fan Heng ordered the local mountain god to move five earth veins to Jian'e Mountain. As a result, within just a hundred years, the spiritual energy of Gu Cang Temple had condensed, the earth energy rose, and the incense became more prosperous.
Later, Master Gu Cang took the initiative to find Fan Heng and asked him to find a way to improve the fortune of Gu Cang Temple, and gave Fan Heng some elixirs.
Fan Heng naturally had no choice but to agree, so he went to find the Minister of Dongtian Prefecture, Master Taihua, and told him about this matter. When Master Taihua heard that it was a disciple of Bodhisattva Baotanhua who asked for help, he naturally had no doubts.
So Master Taihua reported to the Nine True Heavenly Monarch, and after obtaining the Heavenly Monarch's talisman, he raised the fortune of the Gucang Temple by ten feet.
Now, a thousand years have passed, and Gucang Temple has developed into the largest Buddhist temple within a radius of 100,000 miles of Jianda Mountain. More than ten emperors from three countries have come here to pray and burn incense. Master Gucang was directly named the national teacher of the three countries. Gucang Temple is also a model for the expansion of Buddhism in Dongsheng Shenzhou, and has developed at least millions of believers for Buddhism and Baotanhua Bodhisattva.
And because of his great achievements, Master Gu Cang successfully obtained the Taoist fruit of Taiyi Xuanxian two hundred years ago.
But there is a cause and an effect. If you do something wrong, you will have to pay for it. Now, it is time for him to pay for it.
Master Gu Cang raised his head, looked at Fan Heng and the others, and asked again, "Do you really want to give up the Heavenly Talisman Immortal Item and join our Buddhist sect to practice?"
Fan Heng and the others responded in unison: "Please, Buddha, have mercy on us and take us in."
Master Gu Cang said, "Buddhism is a vast and broad sect. How can we refuse anyone entry? However, after you enter our sect, you must sever your past and cast aside worldly thoughts to keep your six senses pure so that you can comprehend our Buddha's wondrous teachings."
"Yes." Everyone responded again.
At this point, a novice monk presented a sandalwood Dharma plate, inside which lay a coldly shining sword.
"Take off the crown." shouted the elder who was presiding over the conversion ceremony.
Fan Heng and others immediately took off their crowns and ribbons and let their long hair fall down.
Gu Cang Master took up his sword and said, "I take refuge in the Buddha, the Two-footed One. I take refuge in the Dharma, the Desireless One. I take refuge in the Sangha, the Most Honored One among the multitude. I take refuge in the Buddha, and I will not fall into hell. I take refuge in the Dharma, and I will not fall into the realm of hungry ghosts. I take refuge in the Sangha, and I will not fall into the animal realm."
After Gu Cang finished speaking, he asked everyone, "Are you willing to take refuge now?"
Fan Heng immediately clasped his hands together and said, "I wish to take refuge in the Buddha, to enlighten all living beings, to understand the great way, and to develop the supreme mind."
"I wish to take refuge in the Dharma, to enlighten all living beings, to delve deeply into the Sutras, and to acquire wisdom as vast as the ocean."
"I wish to take refuge in the Sangha, to convert sentient beings, to lead the masses, to be free from all obstacles, and to be in harmony with the holy assembly."
After Fan Heng finished speaking, the fifty generals behind him repeated it at the same time.
Gu Cang said, "Since you are willing to take refuge, I will ordain you and then bestow upon you a Dharma name. I hope that after you take refuge in the Three Jewels, you will refrain from all evil, practice all good, and contemplate the Three Vehicles of Dharma, returning to your original nature. If you diligently practice and inextinguish your good roots, you will achieve the true fruit."
Fan Heng and his men bowed in unison, saying, "We will follow the Master's instructions."
The sound of wooden fish echoes, the smoke from sandalwood curls up, the setting sun shines on the ancient temple, and the Buddhist sound becomes more majestic.
But just as the Buddhist chant was resonating in Jianta Mountain, a sudden roar came from the sky: "Capture and kill General Fan Heng. Jiuzhen Tianjun orders you to return to Qingyuan Tiangong for an audience immediately."
White birds are startled and fly away, the green lake ripples, and the green pines and cypresses sway in the wind, but only the Buddhist temple's chanting still resounds through the vast mountains.
The messenger Xu Jiong and the general Yuan Dao who attacked the altar stood on the clouds. They saw the sound of Sanskrit in the Gucang Temple but no response, and they couldn't help but look puzzled.
After waiting for a moment, the messenger Xu Jiong shouted again, "Capture and kill General Fan Heng. Jiuzhen Tianjun orders you to go to Qingyuan Tiangong for an audience!"
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