The light smoke fades and the grass is lonely cloud, and the waterfront of the snow mountain is on the waterfront.

In the winter of this year, a distinguished guest came to Dongting Mountain, the Kongming Zen Master of Wuchan Temple, whose status was second only to that of Wuchan Temple.

Nowadays, Buddhism flourishes in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, believers are everywhere, and monasteries can be seen everywhere. But as early as more than 30 years ago, Buddhism almost withered away in the Central Plains.

Emperor Wen of the previous dynasty saw that the previous emperors of the past dynasties could not ask for the elixir of life, smashed the bronze tripod of the Dan furnace and turned to believe in the Buddha, day and night with green lights and yellow scrolls, chanting and copying scriptures, praying for the Buddha to bless the country for a long time.

As a result, Buddhism flourished, and there were more than 480 temples with more than 1,000 monks in the Central Plains, which were called "480 temples" by the world. Monasteries with less than 1,000 monks can be seen everywhere, and the household department once made a rough statistic that there were no less than one million monks in the Central Plains.

Emperor Wen believed in Buddhism, and millions of monks were not only exempted from taxes, but also exempted from forced labor, so that more and more young and middle-aged men broke off three thousand troubles and escaped into the empty door.

Are they really all pursuing the Dharma? Many of them are promiscuous, exempted from forced labor and able to eat enough.

When Emperor Wen of the previous dynasty died, there were no less than two million monks in the Central Plains.

After the death of Emperor Wen, the Central Plains was full of smoke, and the vassal kings rebelled. When Emperor Wuzong, who succeeded to the throne, put down the rebellion, there were no soldiers to recruit at all, the old ones were gray-haired, the small ones were scrawny, and they couldn't even hold swords and guns.

Emperor Wuzong was furious and began the "Eight Years of Destroying Buddha" that shook history.

After the destruction of the Buddha began, the vast majority of the monks in the Central Plains were forced to return to the world, and those who should farm picked up hoes, those who should go to the battlefield picked up bows and crossbows, and those who should read books picked up scrolls.

Eight years after the destruction of the Buddha, there are less than 50 "480 temples" left in the past, and there are no more than 10,000 monks.

When the Buddha was destroyed, all the monks of Wuchan Temple went west to the cool land, took root in the barren and desolate land of Liangzhou, and brought the Buddha's light and Zen heart.

Today's Wuzen Temple's presiding officer Kongjing Zen Master is respected as a "master" by the King of Xiliang, and his status is transcendent, and he no longer sets foot in the Central Plains.

The Kongming Zen master who visited Hongxuanzong traveled all over the world throughout his life, preaching Buddha and preaching Buddhism, promoting Buddhism, and had an excellent reputation in the temples of the rivers and lakes of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.

In the Jingle Palace of Bulao Peak, Ling Daosheng and Zen Master Kongming sat together at the red sandalwood table, the water vapor on the table was curling, the fragrance of tea was overflowing, and a monk talked happily together.

Lu Yunqing, the eldest disciple of the Northern Hell Pavilion, was sitting in a precarious position not far away, and occasionally he could interject a few words, attracting Ling Daosheng's approving gaze.

Zen Master Kongming has a thin face, white eyebrows, a most simple pale yellow monk's robe is slightly white, the monk's shoes are worn out a little tattered, and a string of agate Buddha beads hangs around his neck.

Although the clothes are simple and unpretentious, the empty Ming Zen master is kind and kind-eyed, elegant and elegant, and solemn, as if he is a Buddhist monk with great compassion and perfection.

Zen Master Kongming took a sip of tea lightly, and said with a solemn expression: "Pavilion Master Ling, recently, in the Wild Wolf Valley in the northwest, there was a tragic massacre that shocked the world, and it has been rumored on the rivers and lakes, I don't know if Lord Ling Pavilion has heard of it." ”

In Hongxuan Sect, although Ling Daosheng was in charge of the Qingce Tianzun on behalf of the master, he was only the pavilion master of the Beicang Pavilion in name after all, so Zen Master Kongming had always called Ling Daosheng "Pavilion Master".

Ling Daosheng was busy taking care of the complicated affairs of Hongxuanzong on weekdays, and rarely had the opportunity to set foot in the rivers and lakes, and the ups and downs of the outside world seemed to be far away from him.

Having the same situation as Ling Daosheng, there was also a young man who practiced swords on the Hidden Immortal Rock of Little Lotus Peak, Gu Tiannan.

"One thousand two hundred and forty-five times!" Gu Tiannan muttered, after two months of hard training, his sword drawing style finally accumulated a trace of insignificant but real sword intent.

Now, every time Gu Tiannan took out a sword, the branches ten zhang away had already shaken significantly, shaking off patches of snow. Compared to Master Gu Fan's sword volley, it is naturally far behind, but the martial arts road is already bumpy and long, how can there be a shortcut?

Gu Tiannan's eyes were resolute, standing on the Hidden Immortal Rock where the cold wind was hunting, he kept drawing his sword and collecting his sword, and the thin clothes on his body were soaked with sweat.

A white fat boy named Zhao Tianyang next to him obviously did not have this kind of emotion, he was lazily lying on a bamboo chair basking in the sun, holding a book with a torn cover in his left hand, and pinching a branch in his right hand to sway in the air, imitating every time the senior brother took out his sword.

On the Hidden Immortal Rock, there were occasional disciples of Dongcang Pavilion who gave incense to the Taiyin Xingjun and the Sun Xingjun in the stone hall passing by, and they didn't take a second look here, they were obviously used to this picture of being still and moving, diligent and lazy.

Zhao Tianyang sat up and gently threw the branch in his hand towards the senior brother who was gritting his teeth and pulling out his sword.

The latter didn't look back, and gently picked up the Huanchen sword behind his back, and the branch was immediately broken in two.

Zhao Tianyang saw that Senior Brother refused to turn back, so he shouted loudly: "Senior Brother, I just talked about it for a long time, did you hear it?"

"Now it has spread all over the rivers and lakes, a group of horse thieves and a group of dart masters in the Wild Wolf Valley in the northwest border, adding up to no less than five hundred, even the people and horses were cut into pieces by the sword qi, leaving no one corpse. In my opinion, this is definitely not the behavior of a kendo master, it must be the Heavenly Demon level master of the Youyan Dynasty who went south to Xiliang, went on a killing spree, and sucked the essence of the living!"

Zhijian slaughtered more than 100 people with two swords in the Wild Wolf Valley, leaving behind two miserable Shura Fields, and the next day after another dart team from Shuofang County stepped into the Wild Wolf Valley, this matter quickly spread throughout the Northern Zhou Rivers and Lakes.

The storyteller in the teahouse restaurant was even more spitting, speaking vividly and vividly, as if he was watching the battle in Wild Wolf Valley that day.

The corpses left in the Wild Wolf Valley were just a handful of more than a hundred horse thieves and sixty men and horses of the Sky Eagle Dart Bureau, adding up to less than two hundred, and when it reached Zhao Tianyang's ears, it had already turned into a sword qi that had shredded the entire five hundred people and five hundred horses.

As for who did it, there are also different opinions on the rivers and lakes of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and most people believe that it was the demon masters of the Youyan Dynasty who went south to the Central Plains, giving the Central Plains famous and decent families, especially Hongxuanzong, a dismount.

I don't know if the sword is deliberately like this, using such a ruthless method to lead all the troubles and infamy to the Demon Sect.

In the case of Zen Master Kongming, there is naturally a lot less water.

In the Jingle Palace, Zen Master Kongming had a compassionate face, and said in a sad tone: "More than a hundred horse thieves and more than 60 dart masters were slashed by two sharp sword qi with thousands of swords, and the ground was shattered like Senluo Hell. If the poor monk hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed those rumors. Alas, the sin is great, the sin is great!"

Zen Master Kongming is a high-ranking monk, who has always been compassionate for all things, even if he is a fierce horse thief, it is not impossible in his eyes.

As long as you put down the butcher's knife and sincerely repent, you will be able to get out of the sea of suffering.

After listening to Zen Master Kongming's words, Ling Daosheng slapped the table fiercely and said angrily: "Killing both horse thieves and dart masters, such indiscriminate killing, such a murderous and vicious method, must be done by the Demon Sect demons! As long as the Demon Sect Demon dares to show his head in the Central Plains, no matter what kind of master he is, my Hongxuanzong will definitely divide his five horses!"

Ling Daosheng has sacrificed his life and fought many bloody battles with the Demon Sect since he was a teenager, his wife was forced to commit suicide by the disciples of the Demon Sect, and his daughter Ling Cangxue was tortured by the Demon Sect so that she did not look like a human form, and he had a different hatred with the Demon Sect.

From the words of Zen Master Kongming, Ling Daosheng immediately thought of the Demon Sect, and a nameless fire rose in his heart, and his teeth itched with hatred.

Zen Master Kongming shook his head and sighed: "The rivers and lakes are sinister, and people's hearts are unpredictable. The poor monk traveled to the Buddha throughout his life and knew countless people. In the eyes of the poor monks, there are also well-dressed beasts with human faces and beast hearts among the famous and decent families, and there are also many bold men in the demon cult. The Ling Pavilion Lord has a demonic obstacle in his heart, and it is difficult to get rid of the view of the portal. ”

Zen Master Kongming doesn't like false greetings and politeness on the rivers and lakes, and has always been straightforward, which is the monk's non-verbal speech.

Ling Daosheng didn't think much of the words of Zen Master Kongming, but remembering that the other party was a famous monk of the Northern Zhou Buddhism, it was not easy to attack.

After Ling Daosheng was choked by Zen Master Kongming, he forced himself to suppress the anger in his heart, his face turned red, and he raised his arm to drink the tea in one gulp.

Unexpectedly, the tea had just been brewed, and it was like fire in his throat, and the hot tea made Ling Daosheng cough.

Lu Yunqing hurriedly got up and gently patted the master's back, and said to Zen Master Kongming: "Zen master is reasonable, but he is biased. There are indeed despicable people in the famous and decent families, but the rules of the major factions are strict, and such people are a minority after all. The Demon Cult has always been deviant and proud of deviating from etiquette, and there are probably very few bold and upright people among them. ”

Zen Master Kongming smiled indifferently and was silent.

A senior monk is like a Zen master who is empty, and he is humble and simple, so he naturally will not argue with Lu Yunqing, a younger generation.

Gu Tiannan was different, after he practiced today's sword drawing style to the thousandth and third times, he turned around and picked up the branches on the ground, and threw them hard at the belly of the second junior brother Zhao Tianyang.

"You have time to ponder these rumors, why don't you practice swords with me?" Gu Tiannan walked to Zhao Tianyang's side and snatched the extremely worn book in his hand.

The book has been turned to the corners of the pages, and the spine is sewn up by dense cotton threads, obviously this cannot be Zhao Tianyang's book. Zhao Tianyang's books are not many, but each one is as clean as new.

Gu Tiannan closed the page of the book and looked at the cover, and it was written "Heavenly Demon Blood Sword Thirty-six Styles of Killing Immortals and Destroying Gods".

"Where did you get it?" Gu Tiannan looked at this "Demon Sect Secret Book" and couldn't laugh or cry, even if there was really such a sword technique in the Demon Sect, it would never be this name.

Demon cult demons are just ruthless and extreme, which does not mean that people are uneducated.

Zhao Tianyang narrowed his eyes, stretched his waist, and let the warm winter sun shine all over his body, he said lazily: "In front of Xuanyue Gate, fifteen copper plates were bought." The uncle who sells books has a face like black charcoal, and he also wears an eye patch, looking like a fake Demon Dao Grandmaster. It sounded like he didn't even believe it.