Four electric hot jet engines propel the Bodhi Leaf to gracefully ride the water vapor rising from the sea, fly into the white clouds and mountains that stretch across the vast blue sky, bypass the cloud peaks that seem to rise to the zenith, pass through the rugged cloud valley, and fly to the eastern part of the jasper-like "Golden Hoop of the Great Sage".

The new Shanghai spaceport is located on the shore of a huge circular artificial lake in the east of the new Shanghai. The 100-kilometre-diameter "New Dishui Lake" is the largest main facility of the spaceport and is used to dock luxury interstellar cruise ships that can easily reach thousands of kilometres. At this time, there are two circles of large luxury interstellar cruise ships moored around the island in the middle of the lake and on the edge of the lake, and the airport by the lake is also equipped with many small private starships and various aerospace planes.

The spaceport is very busy, and a large number of aerospace planes and starships are shuttling back and forth under the dispatch of the 1,500-meter-high control tower on the island in the middle of the new Dishui Lake. All of this shows the bustling and lively state of the city. It seems that the economic downturn of the planet "Tai Chi" has nothing to do with this new adventurer's paradise.

Since the "Bodhi Leaf" belongs to the Imperial Military Aircraft, it can not accept the tower dispatch. So when entering the air traffic control area, the control tower simply sends a string of radio signals to provide information about the position on the apron of the spaceport for the pilot to choose.

Second Lieutenant Omar Azai maneuvered the Bodhi leaf briskly over an empty stand on the north shore of Lake New Dishui near the North Terminal Building, lowered four sets of landing gear, slowed down and turned four electric hot jet engines to jet downward. The "Bodhi Leaf" was carried by the strong air current, and slowly landed vertically on the ground.

As soon as the aircraft comes to a stop, the air pressure valve of the cabin door immediately deflats and depressurizes to balance the air pressure inside the cabin with the outside, and then opens the cabin door.

Captain Jiang Ziyue couldn't wait to stand up, but immediately felt overwhelmed and very uncomfortable. Only then did he realize that he had been in space for more than two months, and although the space combat suit he was wearing had a certain health care effect, and he had not relaxed his physical exercise, the muscles of his whole body still had no time to adapt to the "Tai Chi" planetary ground with one or three standard gravity constants (that is, the gravity constant of the earth).

Still, he grabbed the chairs around him and struggled to stand up. Fortunately, he didn't wear heavy reinforced armored body armor and didn't have that many individual weapons, so it wasn't too difficult to cope with the gravity of the planet.

"Private First Class Eric stayed behind to guard the plane, and the rest of the men came with me!" Jiang Ziyue grabbed the seat with his hand and propped his body towards the hatch, while ordering loudly. But even his voice seemed a little weak.

Azai, who rushed from the cockpit, knew that the captain had been on duty for a long time and that his body could not adapt to the gravity environment for a while, so he said to him: "Sir, why don't you take a rest here first?" Let me take you to Mr. Felix Bridgeman. ”

Jiang Ziyue pretended to pat his navigator on the shoulder easily, and said with a smile: "Omar, I have no problem." ”

So, everyone put their weapons on their backs and prepared to get off the plane.

Jiang Ziyue was the last to jump out of the cabin, but he didn't expect that there was already a silver-haired white old man in a suit and leather shoes standing in front of him. I saw the old man stretch out his right hand and greet him warmly in English: "Hello, captain." I'm Felix Bridgeman, your commander? ”

"Hello, Mr. Intelligence Officer, I am Captain von Jiang Ziyue, captain of the cruiser Siegfried." Jiang Ziyue held the other party's hand and said, "My people and I were ordered to come to assist you. ”

The other party's unnatural expression and the weakness of his handshake were felt, and the experienced Bridgeman immediately understood Feng Jiang Ziyue's physical condition. Moreover, Bridgeman was a little dissatisfied with the fact that the Frontier Fleet had only sent a small captain and such a small team of men to support him, so he said unceremoniously to von Jiang Ziyue: "I didn't expect the Frontier Fleet to take this important request so lightly. ”

In the face of the intelligence officer's dissatisfaction, Captain Jiang Ziyue straightened his chest so that the other party could pay attention to the illustrious medals on his chest. He said: "Mr. Intelligence Officer, our ship is the closest to the Taiji planet, so we rushed over first. But we have the ability to cope with everything. ”

The silver-haired old man glanced at the rows of medals on the other party's left chest and said, "Okay, Captain." Are your men and planes capable of airborne operations? ”

"Absolutely." Feng Jiang Ziyue said confidently.

"Great, let's go. Go to the Void Temple. ”

"Void Temple?" Feng Jiang Ziyue asked puzzled.

Because his mother was a devout Buddhist and Taoist believer, Jiang Ziyue went to the Void Temple when he came to New Shanghai with his parents when he was a child, which is the only Buddhist temple in the entire Yingxian Spiral Arm Star that has not been built according to the traditional style, and it is also one of the few Buddhist temples that is not open to non-Buddhist believers.

"Don't ask, without further ado!" Bridgeman said anxiously, and then rushed to board the "Bodhi Leaf".

So, Jiang Ziyue and the others returned to the "Bodhi Leaf".

Four electric hot jet engines roared again to propel the Bodhi Leaf into the blue sky.

The Void Temple is located at the top of Fuxi Mountain in the Berkeley Mountains, more than 300 kilometers northeast of New Shanghai. The 7,000-meter-high Fuxi Mountain is the highest peak in the eastern hemisphere of the entire "Taiji" planet. The water vapor from the eastern sea, driven by the "void" sun, forms a spectacular cloud tide and rushes to the west, and Fuxi Mountain seems to be in the middle of the cloud tide. Dense clouds filled with moisture fly at high speed from the mountainside, while lighter and thinner clouds pass slowly from the summit.

When the "Bodhi Leaf" swept through the surging waves of the clouds and flew close to Fuxi Mountain, Jiang Ziyue once again saw the Void Temple, which was known as the "Nine Heavens Treasure Temple".

Under the clear blue sky, in the white sea of clouds, Fuxi Mountain only reveals a smoky peak, like a small island in the vast smoke waves. In the curling smoke, a golden temple loomed.

On this strange planet, the Void Temple is also full of magic.

In the 26th century, during the interstellar migration boom, the Shaolin Temple Zen master Shenxu monk took it as his mission to preach Buddhism to the wider new world, joined the interstellar immigration team, and built the first Buddhist temple outside the earth - the New Shaolin Temple on the planet "Andromeda".

However, in his later years, the master saw that the major interstellar colonial forces of the Yingxian Spiral Arm were fighting for hegemony, and the people of the new world were in dire straits, but the new Shaolin Temple was powerless to reverse the degeneration of the world, nor could it save the people from fire and water. So the master gave up the new Shaolin hosting, left the new center of mankind on the planet "Andromeda", traveled to the stars, and finally meditated and meditated all day long on the top of the "Tai Chi" planet Fuxi Mountain, reflecting on his life's merits and demerits, and looking for the Dharma to save the world.

Later, the master and his apprentices built the Void Temple on the top of Fuxi Mountain and preached Buddhism to the world. On the basis of the idea of deep emptiness, they founded the Zen Emptiness School.

Zen Kongism is a special school in the history of Buddhist thought, and its core is that "emptiness is always everything". This view does not seem to be much different from the traditional Buddhist saying that "everything is empty", but every time the presiding masters of the Void Temple give lectures to pilgrims, they always emphasize the extension of this core - the very secular and philosophical view that "human interstellar activity accelerates the emptiness of the universe".

But the current void temple is not "empty", carved railings and jade pillars, glazed reflections, and the halls built according to the topography of the mountain top are all splendid. Although Fuxi Mountain is more than 7,000 meters high, it is irradiated by the sun all day long, and the moist hot water blowing from the eastern sea is moisturized all year round. So instead of snow, the temperature at the top of the mountain is around 10 degrees Celsius all year round, and it is very suitable for many plants to grow. The pavilions and water pavilions on the top of Fuxi Mountain, the flowers and green trees are scattered, making the whole temple beautiful and beautiful.

The most breathtaking thing is that the main buildings of the temple are actually suspended high in the air!

The pedestal of ordinary stone is a pure traditional Chinese wooden building, which is permanently suspended in the air dozens of meters above the ground without any support tools. In particular, the Zen Pavilion is lonely at an altitude of 7,000 meters away from the top of the mountain.

This spectacle suspended in thin air has attracted countless curious tourists. There are many opinions about this "man-made phenomenon" that cannot be explained by current science in the interstellar age. It is said that the Master of the Deep Void, who designed and presided over the construction of these buildings, did not leave any design drawings or records, and the principle and technique of his suspension were unknown with the death of the Master of the Deep Void.

Scientists from both the Empire and the Federation have visited the Void Temple to investigate and study, but they have never been able to solve its mystery.

Since the vast majority of visitors were not Buddhists, conservative monastic monks were later closed to the outside world, and only those who held pilgrim passes approved by the Buddhist Association of the New Roman Empire were allowed to worship the Buddha.

Of course, the Imperial Government and the Army, which had privileged privileges, were exceptions.

When the "Bodhi Leaf" flew close to the Void Temple, through the porthole, Jiang Ziyue and his men saw the buildings suspended high in the air. The smoke is miao, the mountains and islands are towering, the pavilions are hanging in the air, and the buildings are flying. In this interstellar era where science and technology are very developed and popular, in the face of this fairyland-like beauty, the officers and men can't help but exclaim loudly.

"Don't be amazed." Imperial Intelligence Officer Bridgeman reminded everyone in a cold tone, "Check your weapons, you'll probably need them later." ”

"What the hell is going on, Mr. Bridgeman?" Captain Jiang Ziyue asked puzzled.

"Captain, if we succeed in our mission, I will have to present a novel to the Imperial Senate and the Archons. But now all I can tell you is to check your weapons, put on your breathing enhancers, and get ready for battle. Bridgeman said solemnly.

"Okay." Seeing that he didn't plan to tell himself the truth at all, Jiang Ziyue replied boringly, and then ordered everyone to get ready: "Everyone do what Mr. Intelligence Officer says, and prepare for battle." ”

Then he contacted the Siegfried in space: "Lieutenant Dietrich." ”

"Yes, sir." The first mate, Dietrich, replied through the headphones.

"Stay above the Void Temple, ready to support us at any time."

"Understood, Captain."

The officers and men immediately inspected the equipment on the orders of the captain. A sergeant took the breathing enhancer from the locker on the plane and distributed it to everyone. The next step was to conduct a military operation on the summit of Fuxi Mountain, which is more than 7,000 meters high in the sea, where the air is so thin that only with the help of breathing enhancers can it maintain effective combat effectiveness.

The breathing enhancer is a large, hemispherical mask with a miniature air conditioning system inside. The system uses a superconducting miniature fan to draw in a large amount of air and compress it to normal air pressure before delivering it into the person's nasal cavity. In this way, the adverse effects such as difficulty in breathing due to the low oxygen content in the thin air are avoided.

The breathing enhancer is equipped with a smart chip and sensor that automatically adjusts to the wearer's breathing rate. At the same time, it is also equipped with an electrostatic filtration device, which has a strong anti-virus cleaning effect. After the birth of the breathing enhancer, it replaced the bulky oxygen cylinder and became one of the essential equipment for human climbing operations.

The "Bodhi Leaf" is like an eagle with wings spread over the clouds, passing through the waves of the Daodao clouds and flying above the Void Temple. However, the flat land of the Void Temple is very small, not enough for the "Bodhi Leaf" with a length of 25 meters and a wingspan of 20 meters to land.

"Drive to the east, there's a big rock there." Bridgeman instructed.

Second Lieutenant Omar Azai skilfully piloted the "Bodhi Leaf" to the east of the Void Temple, where there was indeed a large protruding boulder.

The Bodhi Leaf cautiously moved its bow close to the large rock that had grown out of the mountain and protruded into the air. The four engines roared and constantly adjusted the direction of the jets, ensuring that the plane was safely and accurately positioned against the large rocks.

As soon as Bridgeman saw the plane approaching the big rock, he put on his breathing enhancer, stood up and shouted, "All right. Open the hatch and follow me! "The voice was weird because I was wearing a breathing enhancer.

The hatch to the right of the bow of the Bodhi Leaf, hovering in the air, was almost close to the outer edge of the large stone. I saw two puffs of white gas spewing out around the hatch, quickly depressurizing the cabin, and then opening the hatch.

Felix Bridgeman, who was dressed very gentlemanly, strode out first and jumped onto the big rock. The astronauts of the "Siegfried" also jumped out one after another with weapons and equipment. Jiang Ziyue could only staggered out of the cabin, and finally Azai rushed out after handing over control of the plane to Private Eric.

They formed a seemingly powerful assault team, led by Bridgeman, to the top of the mountain, along the bluestone steps, to the Hidden Scripture Building.

The Void Temple is worthy of being called the Nine Heavens Treasure Temple. The seven-story scripture building with red pillars, red walls, and golden glazed tiles, together with the three layers of bluestone pedestals below, floats in the air at a height of 48 meters. A stone staircase rises from the ground like a flying rainbow, leading to the gate of the Hidden Scripture Building in the sky. Except for the first stone step, which is paved on the ground, the other stone steps are suspended in the air.

From time to time, the sound of wooden fish hitting in the howling wind can be heard. Thin clouds and mist also swept intermittently over the stone steps and pavilions in the air.

This kind of dreamlike sight can only be seen in fantasy movies. Almost all of the Imperial officers and soldiers who were now immersed in the scene were looking at the reality in front of them at the end of their imagination. Even Jiang Ziyue, who had been to the Void Temple, looked at this heavenly scene with curiosity and interest.

"Don't just watch, come with me." Bridgeman loudly reminded the officers and soldiers around him who were immersed in the amazement of the pavilion in the air, and without fear, he raised his legs to climb the suspended steps and walked towards the Tibetan Scripture Building in the air.

Azai hurriedly followed, but the other soldiers hesitated. Apparently they were concerned about the safety of the elevated steps.

"It's fine." Jiang Ziyue said with a smile, then lifted his heavy legs and tried his best to go up. The strong gravity of the planet "Taiji" has always made him deeply uncomfortable, but he tries his best to be like ordinary people.

Watching the three commanders climb the steps as if nothing had happened, and walk towards the scripture building in the air, the soldiers also dispelled their worries and rushed up.

They soon entered the scripture building and found a monk sitting cross-legged in the middle of the hall. He was an old and weak black man, with his shaved hair adorned with nine white ordination incense marks on the top of his head, an empty yellow robe, and a red robe, while knocking on a wooden fish, chanting in a low voice. This person is the sixteenth generation disciple of the Deep Void Master and the current presiding officer of the Void Temple, Master Xuejian.

The old monk's Dharma name contrasted strongly with his complexion, but this did not prevent him from becoming a Zen master. At an altitude of more than 7,000 meters, Master Xuejian actually recited the scriptures peacefully without the help of any breathing equipment. The sound penetrates the secluded scripture building, creating an atmosphere of holiness and detachment.

Seeing Bridgeman leading a group of heavily armed officers and soldiers in, Master Xuejian still knocked on his wooden fish and recited his scriptures, completely ignoring the arrival of the Imperial soldiers.

Bridgeman walked up to the presiding officer and said coldly in stiff Chinese: "Monk Xuejian, I have come as promised, I hope you don't break your promise." ”

The non-standard pronunciation, combined with the effects of the breathing enhancer, made the intelligence officer's voice sound strange in the empty halls.

Xue Jian stopped, slowly stood up, and said softly, "Donor, the monks don't speak. But the Buddha Gate is a pure place, and it is really against the Buddha's rites that you have broken in with so many weapons. ”

The master's voice was full of energy, smooth and fluent, and there were no problems at all due to the lack of oxygen in the mountains.

"Hmph." Bridgeman sneered, and then said, "Monk Xuejian, I believe that the Buddha is transcendent, but the monks are worldly. Some of you have betrayed the Empire and leaked the Empty Settlers to the Commonwealth Security Council. I have to guard against it. ”

"Anitabha, if this is the case, it is really a great misfortune for our temple." Master Xuejian said with a sigh.

"Stop talking nonsense, take us to meet the Kongyi Monk." Bridgeman urged.

"The Kongyi monk is visiting the Zen Pavilion, please come with me." As he spoke, Master Xuejian led them out of the gate of the Scripture Building, down the suspended steps, and back to the ground.

Then turn around and pass directly under the scripture building to the north end of the top of Fuxi Mountain.

Jiang Ziyue and the others saw a suspended stone staircase extending from the ground to the north into the air. The staircase is narrow and long, leading straight to the Zen Pavilion that looms in the clouds and mist nearly a thousand meters away.

The Sanzen Pavilion was the first building built by the Master of Shenxu after he arrived at the top of Fuxi Mountain. It hangs alone in the air more than 7,000 meters north of the Void Temple, and is 999 meters away from the north end of Fuxi Mountain. In fact, its scale is very small, just a small circular pavilion of more than 20 square meters. It is said that Master Shenxu spent all day in this pavilion to participate in meditation and enlightenment, reflect on his life, and at the same time think about the Buddhism to save the people and save the world, and finally passed away in this pavilion.

Master Xuejian stopped in front of the steps, turned to Felix Bridgeman and said, "Donor, the Zen Pavilion is a sacred place in our temple, and the area is small, so it can only accommodate three or two people. ”

Bridgeman glanced at Master Xuejian with some impatience, turned his head to Jiang Ziyue and Azayi, and said, "You two go with me, and the others are here to be on guard." ”

Then he followed Xue Jian up the steps, Jiang Ziyue and Azai followed behind them.

The wind on the suspended steps is stronger than that at the top of Fuxi Mountain. The wind let out a terrible roar and swept the narrow steps with a cloud of mist, as if to carry everything with it.

Jiang Ziyue hurriedly held down the black big-brimmed military hat, followed Bridgeman and Azay with their waists hunched and their heads bowed and cautiously walked forward against the crosswind.

But Master Xuejian, who was walking in the front, walked on the ground, straightened up and strode forward, allowing his robe and yellow robe to be torn into the air by the strong crosswind.