Chapter 1 The Start

Jiangnan Province, beneath a certain overpass.

When sunlight filtered through the cracks, illuminating the only patch of green grass in this dim corner, a tall, young monk slowly opened his eyes. A sparrow nestled on his shoulder, and several stray cats and dogs leaned against him. Yuanjue silently chanted the Diamond Sutra, knowing that all conditioned dharmas are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows.

He waited until all the creatures had awakened before stretching his body.

Then, he hopped on his bicycle, picked up his woven bag, and leisurely rode through the streets and alleys.

The foreman he'd been working with had left the construction site, so he needed to find a new job today.

But he quickly realized something was off.

In the past, when people saw a simply dressed monk like him, even if they weren't overtly hostile, they'd give him a wide berth. Today, so many people were crowding around him, their enthusiasm making him uneasy.

Yuanjue barely managed to escape the overly enthusiastic grandpas and grandmas. A piece of his robe was torn off by one grandma's "divine grasping hand." The poor monk didn't dare to resist and could only flee, clutching his head in dismay.

"What's going on today?"

"Why is everything so strange?"

Yuanjue rubbed his stomach and found a breakfast shop. He pushed open the door and said, "Boss, five radish-filled buns and a bowl of corn grits porridge, please."

The owner looked at him with surprise and delight, hurriedly saying, "Come in, come in, Master, please sit."

Yuanjue was baffled. He put his palms together in thanks and sat down.

Not only the owner, but everyone in the shop was staring at Yuanjue, making the monk, who possessed considerable cultivation, feel his scalp tingle. Something was definitely wrong. When it came time to pay, the owner refused to take his money, simply smiling and saying, "I also respect Buddhism. Master, you don't need to pay."

"This one's on me, it's free."

Yuanjue frowned slightly and murmured, "Respect Buddhism?"

He put his palms together and asked earnestly,

"May I ask, esteemed benefactor, is your respect for Buddhism in your heart, or in your money?"

The owner quickly nodded and said, "Of course, it's in my heart."

The monk smiled and said, "Then, I have received your heart's intent."

"But money has nothing to do with Buddhism, please accept it."

He reached out and placed the money on the table.

The owner didn't know how to refute him. He only felt that although this monk looked a bit rough, his words made a lot of sense. Yuanjue walked out of the shop, already aware that something was amiss. He took out his phone, searched the news, and immediately understood everything.

A moment later, Yuanjue stared at the news of Buddhism displaying supernatural powers, and Grandmaster Kurong arriving at Longhu Mountain.

His expression froze, and he slowly exhaled a turbid breath.

Looking at the image of the giant Buddha, he gritted his teeth and said,

"Mara!"

Seeing Grandmaster Kurong's appearance, he sighed, "A Buddhist enemy!"

The monk almost couldn't stop himself from crushing his phone. Remembering that he didn't have much money, he suppressed his anger and carefully put the phone away. Then, ignoring everything else, he picked up his woven bag, hurriedly returned to the overpass, exchanged the money for food, left it for the creatures, and locked up his bicycle.

He put his palms together, bowed deeply, and dug out a Buddhist staff from a pit nearby.

My lineage is passed down only once per generation!

Today, I enter the world.

He wrapped it roughly in cloth.

The monk, staff in hand, strode towards Longhu Mountain, rushing forth.

His momentum was like thunder.

……………………

Grandmaster Kurong soon arrived at the foot of Longhu Mountain.

He was an old monk with a weathered face and calm eyes, perfectly fitting the public's perception of a virtuous and eminent monk. What made the Daoists of Longhu Mountain grind their teeth in anger was the large number of reporters surrounding him, along with livestreaming upstarts and internet celebrities who had rushed over with their equipment and phones.

This old monk released the news in advance and then slowly came over, just to wait for this?

Damn bald donkey!

The two mountain-guarding Daoists exchanged a glance, inwardly hating him but forced to step aside.

The old monk even put his palms together in a bow to them, appearing dignified and courteous, yet doing nothing but discourteous things. He stepped upwards, while those internet celebrities and bloggers who had rushed over overnight to蹭热点(ceng re dian: ride the trending wave) had already turned on their equipment.

The heat of today's Longhu Mountain trip was even more exaggerated than yesterday's True Buddha teaching the Dharma.

Livestreaming rooms and major news media outlets were already overflowing with people.

Some who couldn't squeeze to the front simply grabbed the two mountain-guarding Daoists and asked:

"Daoists, do you think Celestial Master Zhang will agree to transmit the Dharma to the world this time?"

"If he does, should he thank Buddhism?"

"As Daoist disciples, what do you think of Buddhism's current efforts to widely save the world?"

The two Daoists were pushed back repeatedly.

And more people had already followed Grandmaster Kurong up the mountain.

Zhang Ruosu stood calmly at the highest point of Longhu Mountain, with the young Daoist A Xuan beside him, his face flushed with anger, his hands clenched tightly around his Daoist robe. When Grandmaster Kurong's eyes saw that behind this old Celestial Master, there were neither the long and short, demon-slaying, ghost-killing Dragon and Tiger Swords, nor the Thirty-Three Swords that he had relied on to dominate the world undefeated in his youth, his eyes softened imperceptibly.

Then, under the gaze of countless people, the old monk bowed deeply to the Celestial Master.

And then he actually lifted the hem of his robe and knelt there. This immediately ignited the emotions and atmosphere of everyone watching the event. *Click, click*, flashes of light went off continuously, capturing Grandmaster Kurong's image from all directions and quickly spreading it.

The livestreaming room was also filled with comments.

"He really knelt."

"Master, he keeps his word, he is a true master!"

"Peace and joy, Amitabha."

"Excellent, excellent."

But many Daoists knew that this kneel was directly carrying a vast momentum. They seemed to see countless people standing behind this monk, their faces faintly pale. The surrounding reporters and bloggers would not miss such a good opportunity. They stepped forward and asked:

"Celestial Master Zhang, seeing Grandmaster Kurong kneeling down as he promised, will you choose to open the mountain gate and transmit the Dharma, or will you consider it, for example, by looking at Grandmaster Kurong's sincerity and considering it for a few days?"

"Celestial Master Zhang, Longhu Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion has always been the leader of the Daoist sect in Shenzhou."

"Why didn't you take the initiative to teach the Dharma this time? Buddhism was earlier. Is it true that Daoism values ​​freedom and self more, and is not as compassionate as Buddhism?"

"Celestial Master Zhang..."

Each question was specially prepared. If one mistake was made, a series of inquiries would immediately follow.

The long and short-barreled interviewing equipment was sometimes no less powerful than real guns and cannons.

One reporter asked: "Celestial Master Zhang, what exactly has the Daoist sect done in this matter?"

"Buddhism has lay practitioners who have taken action to stop the demons in Jiangnan Province, and there are Buddhas who have changed the course of the Huai River for Shenzhou. In comparison, the Daoist sect seems to be too quiet and detached from the outside world, don't you think?"

This question linked the two incidents that had previously occurred in Shenzhou.

The barrages and comments in the livestreaming room suddenly exploded.

"Great Sage, the eternal god."

"You don't know the wind in Jiangnan Province that day!"

"Who doesn't know? There are a lot of analysis diagrams on the Internet, and audio has been leaked. Who doesn't know..."

At this time, everyone's eyes also fell on the old Celestial Master's face, waiting for his answer.

Zhang Ruosu's eyes were calm, and he said: "Take action to kill demons, change the course of the Huai River..."

"Grandmaster Kurong, what do you think?"

The old monk put his palms together and said, "Just compassion."

Zhang Ruosu said calmly: "Compassion..."

Just when the people watching this grand event were slightly emotional because of the word compassion, a sneer suddenly came from behind Longhu Mountain: "The Buddhist sect is just a bunch of people who steal other people's achievements and distort the truth. They actually came up with this again? And they still have the face to come to Longhu Mountain?"

"It's really ridiculous."

The voice was calm, but every word was barbed. Everyone subconsciously looked over and saw a young man walking down Longhu Mountain, wearing ordinary Daoist robes, carrying a sword on his back, but wearing a simple mask on his face. In the current situation, such a sentence was undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire.

Kurong put his palms together and simply said: "Amitabha."

This posture instead made everyone feel a little angry.

A young man couldn't help but step forward and said, "Who are you?"

"What? You can't reason with us, so you just start being shameless? You even steal other people's fruits. I think you want to steal the fruits, right? You're even wearing a mask, hiding yourself."

The masked Daoist simply stared calmly at everyone and said:

"This poor Daoist is just a wild Daoist."

This sentence was spoken in a calm voice, but for some reason, the people who heard this sentence, especially those in the livestreaming room who heard it through the sound-receiving equipment, felt inexplicably familiar. Shi Guoxing, a blogger who edited and did post-production, subconsciously looked at the column next to him after hearing the voice.

He saw the editing material for the Jiangnan Province incident.

"This poor Daoist is just on Longhu Mountain, revising the Gongfa (cultivation method) catalog with Daoist Zhang."

"I don't know when I became a Buddhist disciple?"

After this sentence was spoken.

The man who spoke earlier said: "How did you, a Daoist, become a Buddhist disciple..."

The people around were still a little puzzled.

The Daoist raised his hand, his five fingers turning over, and said in a calm voice: "Crazy wind..."

The five fingers closed together:

"Come!"

So the wind rose.

Just like Jiangnan Province.

The surroundings were silent in an instant.

……………………

That was a howling gale, a rushing torrent.

As long as they were still in Jiangnan Province at the time and had experienced that incident, they would not forget this magnificent storm that was impossible to happen a second time. The free-flowing airflow swept through the clouds and water vapor, covering the entire Longhu Mountain, as if the verdant clouds had fallen into the world.

The almost substantial gale was swirling, but it did not harm anyone.

Only the Daoist's sleeves were fluttering.

Familiar voice, familiar words.

Everyone had already watched the analysis videos of the Jiangnan Province incident on the Internet.

Some people had already quickly analyzed the sound sources of these two sentences and compared them. Then, they came to the same conclusion. Everyone who was paying attention to this matter just felt their heads shake and were stunned for a moment. The previous righteous indignation became confusion.

Wasn't it said that the one who took action was a Buddhist protector?

How, how could he be on Longhu Mountain?

What did he mean by that sentence?

The masked Daoist flicked his sleeves and said in a calm voice:

"This poor Daoist is the Lord of the Taiping Department, of the Three Caves and Four Supplements of Shenzhou."

"The day before yesterday, I went down the mountain to eliminate demons at the invitation of Daoist Zhang, and then returned to the mountain to revise the newly revised Gongfa (cultivation method) with Daoist Zhang. Grandmaster Kurong, can you explain why this poor Daoist has become a member of your Buddhist sect?!"

The words were sharp, and the atmosphere was even a little awkward for a while.

The monk was silent for a moment and said slowly: "This Daoist friend's Feng Fa (wind technique) is indeed somewhat skilled, and is similar to my Buddhist protector, it is truly powerful..."

Before the voice fell, he heard the sound of air being torn apart.

A sharp sword Qi (energy) came from afar, crashing heavily between the two, the sword Qi (energy) was森然(sen ran: cold and awe-inspiring), tearing the ground. Everyone saw this sword and recognized that it was one of the swords that had appeared in Jiangnan Province that day. Later, it was photographed, analyzed in high definition, and placed on the Internet.

Wei Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and flicked his sleeves.

This sword slowly fell beside Zhang Ruosu, and he said in a calm voice:

"Daoist Zhang."

"This sword was used by Celestial Master Zhang Daoling of the Orthodox One Sect when he was young. You previously borrowed it from me to subdue demons."

"Today, I return it to its original owner."

Then he turned his head and stared at Kurong with calm eyes and said:

"Grandmaster Kurong, what did you just say?"

"Or are you saying that your Buddhist sect also uses the Orthodox One Sect's sword?"

With both the witness and the evidence present, the monk was speechless and suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

At this time, among the reporters he brought, some keenly sensed the taste of big news, suppressed the excitement in their hearts, stepped forward, and took the initiative to ask: "Daoist, you just said that you are editing the Gongfa (cultivation method) with Celestial Master Zhang?"

Wei Yuan nodded and said, "That's right."

He looked at everyone and introduced in a calm voice: "Now is the time of great change, we should make the Gongfa (cultivation method) popular among the public. We have already conducted a concentrated cultivation in the military once. This period of rectification is the second time. The purpose is to completely abolish sectarianism, so that everyone can cultivate."

"For this reason, the martial arts world, the Daoist sect, and the military have all put in a lot of effort."

Suddenly a voice shouted: "Who knows if you deliberately created this for the reputation of Longhu Mountain, seeing that the master is teaching the Dharma, you are unwilling to show weakness."

"Master is teaching the Dharma?"

Wei Yuan raised his eyebrows and said, "Are you talking about what the Buddhist sect is teaching?"

He said in a calm tone: "It's something from more than a thousand years ago."

"After the Three Wu and One Zong incident, I don't know how much was lost."

"Who knows if you will accidentally become 火入魔(zou huo ru mo: succumb to inner demons) and immediately die on the spot and be cremated into *sarira* (Buddhist relics)."

The atmosphere was a bit cold.

People who cultivated this Dharma (teaching) didn't know why, but they felt a little drum in their hearts.

Three Wu and One Zong.

The most taboo topic of Buddhism was directly and calmly brought up.

People on the Internet also began to come back to their senses. Seeing that the people of Jiangnan Province took action that day, and also brought out the military, many people began to reflect on the actions of Buddhism. The Buddhist sect's advantage in public opinion and credibility was unknowingly destroyed by the previous black spot of stealing other people's achievements, and the existence of the new Dharma.

Kurong clearly understood the plan of the Daoist in front of him. He put his palms together and said woodenly: "A monk cannot have a heart of contention. It seems that the Daoist sect is willing to widely teach the Dharma, as this poor monk said. That's the best, excellent, excellent."

"Regarding the Gongfa (cultivation method), this poor monk has one more thing to say. My Buddhist Dharma has the true body of the Buddha descending into the world, bright and upright, and giving great compassion. Everyone can cultivate it without worry. How can we know that what you are using is the new Dharma, and not using profound Daoist magic?"

"The true body of the Buddha?"

The Daoist suddenly smiled and said in a playful voice:

"Does the Buddha statue you saw have the character Yuan (渊: abyss) on its forehead?"

Shi Guoxing, who analyzed the sound source earlier and posted it on the Internet as soon as possible, was stunned.

He keenly realized something and quickly began to mobilize yesterday's video, using software to reduce the light intensity and analyze the image quality. At this time, the Daoist said: "As for the new Dharma that we have improved, there are various evidences and records, everyone can go and see."

Shi Guoxing complained while busy. This kind of talk is useless. If the other side bites and doesn't admit it, there is no way. Sure enough, the Buddhist monks over there, and many onlookers, and even people on the Internet have put forward various kinds of suspicion.

He glanced at it, all kinds of questions, such as why didn't they take it out before.

For example, data can be faked.

For example, whatever you say is whatever?

Not to mention the comments, the barrages were almost exploding.

There are many internet trolls, this is really the truth.

Shi Guoxing glanced at the dense barrages and complained, just as his daughter ran over and said that her mother was ignoring her, Shi Guoxing comforted his little darling while picking her up, and suddenly heard the Daoist say: "Is that so? I happen to have someone here who is absolutely credible."

"Whether it is credible or not, what you say doesn't count."

"Everyone has to believe it."

Shi Guoxing couldn't help but scold. This is too unreasonable.

Everyone believes it, really shameless.

Unexpectedly, the Daoist actually agreed and said in a calm voice: "Okay."

Then, the Daoist with the mask on his face tapped his sleeve slightly with his fingers.

Facing the people at the foot of the mountain, facing the interviewing equipment like long guns and short cannons, he said in a peaceful voice:

"The Great Demon Subduing Emperor of the Three Realms, Heavenly Venerable Guan Sheng Dijun (Lord Guan)..."

"Where are you?!"

Shi Guoxing's movements suddenly froze, and his heart seemed to stop beating for a moment.

Who?!

The barrage disappeared instantly, as if thought had frozen.

ps: Today's second update... 5,000 words.

Chapter 209: The Mark Left by Wuzhiqi on the Buddha's Forehead.

Regarding Buddhism, there is such a passage of scripture.

Although I wanted to say 5,000 words combined into one, but what I said today is three updates, the third update will be later.