Nine years later

Ming, Jiajing fourteen years.

Shaanxi, Xi'an, Xiangji Temple.

The Zhongnan Mountain Range, which has been passed down from generation to generation, is the source of Qinlong in the west, reaches the Lantian in the east, the cumulus clouds and fog, and the peaks and ravines are thousands of Lan. The terrain of Zhongnan Mountain is precipitous, the mountain road is rugged, there are five big valleys, more than 100 small valleys, in the middle of the meridian valley is just north, a temple with the shade of Buddha is located here, the name is Xiangji.

The gem of the Shenhe Yuan on the east side of the Xiangji Temple, the confluence of the two rivers in the west, the beauty of the feminine and soft in the north according to Fanchuan, the whole courtyard wall is built around the mountain, there is a temple in the mountain, there is a mountain in the temple, the ancient wood and pine are wrapped and gathered, secluded but not secluded, quiet but not lonely.

Different from the past, today the mountain gate of Xiangji Temple is open, more than ten monks are wearing Dharma robes, on both sides of the column, it seems to be waiting for distinguished guests.

Looking through the mountain gate, the smoke in the courtyard rises, a wide and bright stone staircase is approaching up the mountain, it is exactly nine hundred and eighty-one steps under the count, and the stone stairs go up is an open square paved with stone slabs, and the main hall of the majestic hall with gold surging is standing here.

Today, as usual, the hall is crowded, but these are not ordinary pilgrims, except for more than ten monks, everyone is old or young with hair combed, robes, and all of them look extraordinary, like self-cultivation hermits.

And when everyone was handing over their titles, they suddenly heard the bell ringing outside the hall, and the sound of silence rippled in all directions, everyone stopped talking and looked outside the hall.

The old monk's face was full of wrinkles, but his complexion was ruddy and abnormal, and his breath did not change after entering the main hall, as if he had never climbed the eighty-one steps quickly, but his expression was very solemn.

As soon as the old monk stood still, before he could look around at the crowd, he heard someone in the crowd sigh: "Master Huiwu, you can ask people to wait! I don't know what is important to discuss with us this time?"

This half-tired and half-playful voice comes from a middle-aged Taoist with fierce eyes and eyebrows, he is dressed in a red crane, and the colorful twenty-four cranes are made of gold threads, wearing a crown of the Heavenly Dao, stepping on the Dan Hang, holding an ivory hand board, distinguishing the dress of the green clothes and small hats.

Master Huiwu looked for the sound and saw that it was the head of the three sects of the Taoist Fu Gong, the head of the 'Dragon and Tiger Sect', Zhang Yanyu and Zhang Tianshi.

The Dragon and Tiger Sect is inherited from the "Zhengyi Sect", because it is widely supported by the imperial court, the incense is vigorous, the grandeur of the temple is almost incomparable throughout the world. And Zhang Tianshi is also on the list and ranks fourth, and there are countless disciples under him. Therefore, compared with other hermits in the hall, Zhang Tianshi, who was not confused for the first time, was a little less elegant and elegant, but a little more coercive.

"Amitabha, it turned out to be Zhang Tianshi of Longhu Mountain, and the old man was rude. Master Huiwu saluted, then sighed again, and said, "If it weren't for the emergency, the old man would ......."

Before Master Huiwu could go any further, one of the people said, "Master Zhang, don't be too anxious. ”

This voice makes people feel like a spring breeze, but it faintly reveals an irrebalanceable momentum, which makes people feel unconsciously respectful. Everyone looked at each other, and the person who spoke was one of the three sects of Fu Zheng, the head of the Maoshan Sect and the sect master of Xu. At this moment, he walked out of the front row of the crowd with a smile on his face. Unlike the luxurious-looking Zhang Tianshi, Sect Master Xu only wore a layman robe, but his beard was white and his spirit was strong, but he looked like he was very charming, which reminded people of the immortal gods in the clouds.

Behind Sect Master Xu, stood a short and fat Taoist holding an iron rod with Qi Mei Bin. This person is about four years old, his face is yellow, his short eyebrows are sparse, a pair of female dog eyes are rhymeless and unfocused, there is a toad mouth hanging under the garlic nose, and the dog oil beard on the corner of his lips is slightly upturned, which makes people can't help but laugh after seeing it, standing with his fairy-like master, it can be said that there is a difference between heaven and earth.

At this time, Sect Master Xu walked in front of Master Huiwu, saluted with one palm, and said, "Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable, the poor way is polite." Master Huiwu has worked hard all the way, and it is not too late to rest and stop. After saying that, he looked at Zhang Tianshi to the side, but saw that Zhang Tianshi tilted his head to the side angrily.

"Oh, it's Maoshan Sect, Sect Master Xu!" Master Huiwu bowed deeply. Seeing that the old Taoist in front of him was still looking like a crane-haired child, Master Huiwu couldn't help but feel a little more comforted in his heart, and then said, "Sect Master Xu has condescended to this point, and there are many sects to help each other, it is really a blessing for my Ming people!"

"Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable, the master has a good reputation. Sect Master Xu paused slightly, "Master Cheng will not give up, and the poor Dao is fortunate to go to this once-in-a-century Buddhist event with the inferior Lu Yezi, and I ......am very grateful."

Before Sect Master Xu could continue, there was a commotion in the crowd, and there was a thunderous sound: "Okay, okay! I said Master Huiwu, and Sect Master Xu, everyone came to this Buddha and Dao Conference, not just to see your fake politeness!" This voice was like a flood bell colliding, and everyone buzzed.

The person who spoke was a middle-aged Taoist who was tall and broad-shouldered, wearing a patterned robe, with vicissitudes on his face, a fierce eyebrow, and that voice like a huge thunder, if it weren't for the fact that he was holding a horsetail in his hand, he was almost the same as a market butcher.

Master Huiwu looked at it casually, and this fierce person was the head of the Pavilion Soap Sect with Dragon and Tiger Zhengyi, Maoshan Shangqing, and called Fu Zheng and the Three Sects, Lu Yongming. Master Huiwu didn't speak, and immediately stepped forward to salute, and turned to everyone: "Today, I am fortunate to invite you to the golden body, the old man does have a big matter to discuss, and you are in charge of teaching, follow the old man to the meditation room, please." With that, he walked into the depths of the main hall first, and then turned into the side door.

Seeing Master Huiwu leaving, Pavilion Soap Sect Lu Yongming seemed to be displeased, and the leopard's eyes widened and said angrily: "This bald ...... This master is so unreasonable!" After speaking, he glanced at Zhang Tianshi and followed in.

"Hmph!" Zhang Tianshi looked at the distant Master Huiwu and said disappreciatively, "So it's mysterious! There are no outsiders, and it's mysterious?"

"That's it!" a fat white Taoist priest next to Zhang Tianshi echoed, "Our Zhang Zhenren, the Tao is profound, and he has insight into the world, how can this old monk hide it!?

Don't look at it, Zhang Tianshi also knows that he is his beloved apprentice, and he has a clear breeze. Chang Qingfeng was the shortest and fattest among Zhang Tianshi's disciples, and his swollen face was like a steamed bun soaked in water for a day, but it was not difficult to guess from his ability to meet his mind that he was also the most favored.

After listening to Chang Qingfeng's words, Zhang Tianshi's complexion improved slightly, and he turned to say: "Qingfeng, you take your junior brother to wait here, and the real person wants to learn a thing or two." With that, he also walked with the crowd to the depths of the main hall.

At this moment, all the sects in charge of the main hall have left, and only Sect Master Xu of Maoshan is still standing in place thoughtfully.

"Master, aren't you going in?"

Sect Master Xu was thinking to himself when he heard Lu Yezi's reminder behind him, slightly paused his sleeves, and said, "Wait here, come when you go for the teacher." ”

※ ※ ※

In the meditation room, it is simple.

Master Huiwu looked at the Dragon and Tiger Sect, the Maoshan Sect, the Pavilion Soap Sect, and the Yonglu Sect and other prestigious sects of the sect were all present, so he bowed deeply and said, "Amitabha, do you know where the old man came from?"

This sudden question made everyone look at each other, and they didn't know why.

Pavilion Soap Sect Leader Lu Yongming was straightforward, only to see him frown, and shouted impatiently, "Are you ...... Master, don't sell it! You're a big living person, you can jump and jump, who knows where you came from?"

Master Huiwu knew Lu Yongming's temperament, smiled slightly, and said, "Amitabha, this is not the old man's. In this case, the old man explained the reason in detail. At this point, Master Huiwu's face turned solemn.

"Do you know that the 'Heavenly Disaster' has quietly arrived?" Although Master Huiwu's voice was not high, it really penetrated everyone's hearts.

"Heavenly difficulty?!" Everyone was in a hurry, and even Sect Master Xu of Maoshan was surprised at the moment.

"Exactly. Master Huiwu nodded.

"What kind of heaven?" "Pavilion Soap Sect Lu Yongming asked eagerly with wide eyes.

"The sky is difficult, it is nothing more than the sky falling apart and the lives are ruined!" Master Huiwu said word by word.

"Where did Master Huiwu start with this?" Lu Yongming asked tightly.

Master Huiwu frowned slightly, and said, "There are so many harmons, could it be that you masters didn't notice it in the slightest?"

"What are the signs?" asked the crowd in unison.

Master Huiwu paused, and said in a straight voice: "It's that the temple is unfair, the countryside demon suddenly appears, the sword soldiers are everywhere, and natural disasters are ...... one after another."

"Okay, okay, don't talk about it, the more I talk about it, the more confused I become!" Lu Yongming interrupted.

Master Huiwu said in a deep voice: "Amitabha." Then the old man will teach you one by one. First of all, the temple is unfair, in recent years, the imperial court has built a lot of construction and Taoism, affecting all living beings for the time being, and even smashed the Buddha and destroyed the pagoda in the Sichuan territory......"

"Huh!"

As Master Huiwu was speaking, a sneer came from among the crowd.

Looking up, it was Zhang Tianshi of the Dragon and Tiger Sect who was sitting on the top side. At this moment, he straightened his sleeves slightly, raised his eyebrows and squinted his eyes, and said: "Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable, although the poor Dao doesn't understand what the master means by the heavenly difficulty, but if it is said that this law is unfair, the poor Dao has something to say." The saint is the true son of heaven and the respect of ten thousand times, I am prosperous in the Ming Dynasty and rich in the world, don't say that repairing a few Taoist temples in him is to order every prefecture and county in the world to cultivate a place, so what's the matter? How can it be said that the law is unfair?" Zhang Tianshi led the Dragon and Tiger Taoist Sect at a young age, and the court book ranked in the fourth grade, although the qualifications were slightly inferior to the other masters here, but the official position was high. These words were more than official, and no one in the hall spoke up.

Zhang Tianshi looked around at the crowd, saw that there was no answer, and said: "I have a Ming Dynasty based on Taoism, rejuvenating the dynasty, benefiting the people, and advocating Taoism...... In my opinion, you are disturbed by the destruction of the eighteen golden Buddhas in the Sichuan territory by the imperial court, right? Could it be that there is a fear that the city gate will catch fire and affect the fish in the pond, so you can't use the topic to play a role?"

Sect Master Xu of Maoshan who was sitting at the head of Zhang Tianshi, saw that he was open-mouthed at this time, and he was afraid of hurting everyone's harmony, so he hurriedly persuaded: "Immeasurable Tianzun, Zhang Tianshi's words ...... this"

"Amitabha!" Master Huiwu stopped Sect Master Xu and turned to Zhang Tianshi and smiled, "The imperial court is not just here for my Buddhist family. Could it be that Zhang Tianshi had never heard that the 'Taiyi Sect', which was also a Taoist sect, was recently deposed by the imperial court on a trumped-up charge?"

I don't know if it was a conscious faux pas, or if he was speechless, Zhang Tianshi didn't answer correctly for a while.

Lu Yongming, who was on the side, listened speciously, and couldn't interject for a while, but seeing that no one was talking at the moment, he hurriedly asked in a loud voice: "Master, what does this 'smashing pagoda' and 'scrapping Taiyi' have to do with the disaster?"

Master Huiwu smiled bitterly and said, "Presumably everyone knows that the Protector Mage 'To a True Man', right?"