A moment later, the man and the horse woke up from the shock. The Big Black Horse could not resist the instinctive fear and turned around to escape, while Ning Que was still staring at the scene under the cliff in a daze.
Xuankong Temple was an Unknown Place. Even cultivators only vaguely knew that this sacred place of Buddhism was located in the depths of the Western Wilderness and was rarely visited. Because of the name of Xuankong Temple, many people naturally guessed that Xuankong Temple must be built on the legendary Floating Island that only those in the Divine State could have.
Who would have thought that Xuankong Temple was not floating in the sky, but under the ground? Ning Que looked at the mountain in the distance where the Big Black Horse's body was hidden under the ground and felt puzzled.
At this moment, on the cliff far away in the southwest, countless white fog suddenly fell. The fog was slightly moist and heavier than the air. It slowly fell from the edge of the cliff to the bottom of the Giant Sinkhole, looking like a white waterfall.
The Giant Sinkhole was originally humid and foggy. At this time, the morning fog that gathered on the surface suddenly became a vast expanse of whiteness. The majestic mountain peak was shrouded in clouds and fog. It was impossible to see the bottom of the mountain, as if it had disappeared. Looking from the black carriage, it seemed to have become a floating island floating in the clouds. The yellow temple between the peaks of the island was faintly discernible in the fog, as if it was a Buddhist paradise.
Ning Que looked at the amazing scene in front of him and said with emotion, "So this is the origin of Xuankong Temple."
The Big Black Horse lowered its head and lightly kicked the ground, not daring to make a sound. However, it was extremely anxious and nervous. It thought that even if the sacred place of Buddhism was indescribably magical, it was not worth taking such a big risk.
Ning Que did not think it was very risky. With his eyesight, he could only see the rough shape of the yellow temple in the distant mountain in the Giant Sinkhole. Then from the mountain to the ground, the black horse carriage was about the size of a black grain of sand and would not attract the attention of the monks in Xuankong Temple.
He walked back to the carriage and took out something that looked like an iron cylinder from his luggage. He stretched it slightly and put it to his right eye to look at the mountain in the distance.
The iron cylinder was a stargazing mirror that he designed and then carefully made by Fourth Brother and Sixth Brother. There were two of them. One was given to the Headmaster and the other was naturally carried by him.
When the Headmaster of the Academy first used this mirror to observe the stars, he changed it to a telescope based on its effect. Ning Que did not know about this, but he knew that this mirror was originally used to see far.
The clouds and mist in the Giant Sinkhole flowed very fast. The yellow temple in the mountain peak appeared and disappeared from time to time. Sometimes the world below the mountainside could be seen. Ning Que held the telescope and looked at the magnified scenery in the circular field of view. He looked at the monks who were doing their morning exercises on the stone ground in front of the temple and remained silent.
There was probably wind whistling up from the bottom of the Giant Sinkhole, and the thick clouds on the mountainside were mostly blown away. Ning Que looked at the scene at the mountainside through the telescope and was surprised to find that there were layers of terraced fields below the mountainside of the giant peak. Looking at the color of the plants in the fields, it should be the cold rice that was hard to grow in the Wilderness. Then, he found that there was a river at the bottom of the Giant Sinkhole and farmhouses.
Ning Que silently observed the Xuankong Temple with the telescope. His expression became more and more serious, and his hands holding the iron cylinder became more and more stiff.
According to the scene he saw, he estimated that there were about a thousand monks in the Xuankong Temple, and at least a hundred thousand people lived in the vast field at the bottom of the Giant Sinkhole. Those dark-skinned and ragged farmers were responsible for providing daily necessities for the Xuankong Temple and must bear a lot of heavy labor.
Xuankong Temple had existed for many years, and those mortals must have lived at the bottom of the Giant Sinkhole for many years. Many generations of mortals had lived in the damp and dark underground, working hard without complaint to maintain the existence of Xuankong Temple. Ning Que believed that even the most devout Buddhist believer could not bear such torture forever. The monks in Xuankong Temple must have their own ways to drive these farmers like animals. In this sense, those farmers were more like serfs that had long been abolished in the Central Plains.
In a very short time, many scenes appeared in Ning Que's mind. The escaped slaves who had their shoulder blades pierced by iron chains, the disrespectful people who fell dead in the cold rice fields, the hundreds of thousands of poor mortals kneeling in front of the mountain peak, and the extravagant life of the monks in the temple … He put down the telescope and looked at the Xuankong Temple in the clouds, which looked like a Buddhist country. He frowned slightly.
Sangsang lifted the curtain and saw the scene in front of her. She was shocked speechless.
Ning Que handed the telescope to her and said, "Take a look and then leave. Our trip to the Xuankong Temple is not in vain."
…
…
If Ning Que was a man of great wisdom and courage, he might climb down the cliff and secretly go to the miserable world under the clouds. He might start a rebellion among the serfs and overthrow the deformed Xuankong Temple. Or he might sneak into the Xuankong Temple to find the treasures that Buddhism had accumulated for many years.
But he was not such a person. After observing the Xuankong Temple, he did not hesitate at all. He let the big black horse take the carriage away from the edge of the Giant Sinkhole and left quietly in the opposite direction.
Although the treasures were good, it depended on whether he was alive to get them. Everyone was curious. If he was still the simple Mr. Thirteen of the Academy before he entered the Lanke Temple, he would go to the Xuankong Temple no matter what. Anyway, even if the monks caught him, they would not dare to kill him. But now he had Sangsang with him. Although the world was big, there seemed to be no place to stay, not to mention the Lanke Temple where the Buddhism Sect was bent on killing Sangsang.
The black carriage moved quietly. After a while, it returned to the place where they had started. It was just a little off course and happened to pass the Bodhi tree.
Ning Que looked at the Bodhi tree outside the window and said, "That should be the place where Buddha passed away."
Sangsang looked at the grey-white trunk and futon like green tree, thinking that in such a cold autumn, there should be such a lonely tree in the Wilderness, which was really a bit magical. She also thought that she actually saw the place of Buddha's Parinirvana recorded in the Buddhist scriptures, and could not help but be very surprised.
Ning Que said with a smile, "Now your status is no less than that of Buddha. You don't need to be too afraid of him."
After the Light of Buddha descended on the Lanke Temple from the top of Tile Mountain, the two had no chance to discuss that matter. Or it could be said that they did not want to discuss that matter. But after all, they could not stay silent forever.
Sangsang was silent for a long time and whispered, "Will I really destroy this world?"
Ning Que thought of the Xuankong Temple he had seen and the cruel truth he had guessed. He said, "I don't know and I don't care. But if it is such a world, it doesn't matter if it is destroyed."
…
…
(He lay in bed until eight o 'clock and then struggled to get up. Oh oh … continue to write the next chapter.) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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