The Taoist temple was the place where Taoism was observed. The monk was the person who left the world. The Taoist temple observed Taoism honestly and the monks left the world dutifully. They should not be too involved in the world.
Don't forget, this was Beiliang. The culprit who once turned the people of Jianghu into rats was either patrolling the border or watching Beiliang coldly from Mount Qingliang.
Hwangnam County's Qingrong Temple was famous in Beiliang for its towering ancient trees. The path to the temple was covered with greenery. It was the best place for the county officials and dignitaries to escape from the summer heat. As the Beiliang Palace was built on Mount Qingliang, Qingrong Temple also had the reputation of being cool. Qingrong Temple had always had a deep relationship with the officials of Hwangnam County. For example, Wang Xihua, who worshipped Elder Huang, even though he did not have a teacher, he worshipped Taoist Qing Huai as his "teacher". Moreover, this old Taoist was Wang Xihua's political enemy, Governor Song Yan, for many years. Song Yan did not alienate his relationship with Qingrong Temple just because Wang Xihua worshipped this Taoist as his "teacher". Now that Li Yang had destroyed Buddhism, only Beiliang's Taoism was close to Buddhism. Many monks and monks rushed into Beiliang to seek refuge. Qingrong Temple also opened its "escape from the summer heat" door. Most of them did not refuse. Fortunately, Qingrong Temple was prosperous, otherwise, it would be eaten by so many mouths. Among the monks who stayed in Qingrong Temple, the most famous one was Monk Huang Deng of Gangnam-do. In this half a year, the monk and the Taoist had been learning from each other. Both sides debated Buddhism and Taoism and did not close the door. This made the scholars of Hwangnam County scramble for it, regardless of whether they could understand it or not.
At night, the Taoist temple's night sky was green and close to ink. Only a lantern was hung in one place. The light was dim and there were two unfamiliar songs alternating. At first, it sounded barren and out of tune, but if one listened carefully, one might be able to taste something unique.
The old Daoist had white hair and a ruddy complexion. He held a horsetail whisk in his arms and sat on the ground with his back leaning against a pillar. He was none other than Daoist Qing Huai, an expert in the Zhai Jiao Keyi. There was an old monk clapping his hands beside him. He was humming a line, "Snatch the swallow's mud, shave the Buddha's golden makeup, slice the mosquito's leg meat …" He was none other than Yellow Lamp Zen Master, who had drifted from Gangnam-do to Beiliang during the Buddha Annihilation Catastrophe.
The two old men looked at each other and smiled.
Monk Huang Deng asked softly, "My old friend Qing Huai, I heard in Gangnam-do that there was a guqin belonging to the Lei family of Xishu in Qingrong Temple. Back then, the Lei family followed the king of the fallen country to his death. The hundreds of guqins that the family had kept were all smashed to pieces. I wonder if this guqin can still be played?"
The old Daoist said regretfully, "When I got my hands on it, more than half of the 'Rao Dianlei' had already been burned. Not a single string was left. Every time the remnants of Xi Shu looked at it with tears in their eyes."
Monk Huang Deng sighed, "The rise and fall of fate."
The old Daoist raised his head and looked at the lantern hanging high. He suddenly laughed and said, "Isn't there a competition between Buddhism and Taoism?"
The old monk nodded. After a moment of silence, he asked, "What do you think of the Lord of Beiliang?"
The Daoist spoke without hesitation. He said, "Of course he has made great contributions. According to the system of our dynasty, there are six categories of contributions: founding the country, quelling difficulties, capturing rebels, suppressing the vassals, resisting the barbarians, and conquering the barbarians. The King of Beiliang, Xu Xiao, has five. His contributions are more than just the Lord's. However, as a subject, if the Lord wants the subject to die, the subject is disloyal. "
The old monk smiled calmly. The Daoist was looking at the big red lantern, while the monk was looking at a string of wind chimes that were mute even though there was no wind.
There was a buzzing sound.
Although it sounded like there was only one sound, there were more than forty crossbow arrows shooting towards the eaves.
The old Daoist furrowed his brows, but he didn't withdraw his gaze. With a flick of his horsetail whisk, he wrapped a few crossbow bolts in the white strands of the whisk. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he pretended to use the crossbow bolts to knock against the crossbow bolts. He actually managed to block the rain of arrows outside the eaves.
Two armored soldiers came out of the shadows, one in front and one behind. When they were ten steps away from the corridor, they changed into a bunch of arrows that flew over the soldiers' heads. The old Daoist stood up. He held the horsetail whisk in one hand and the white silk in the other. He pulled out most of it and threw it into the air.
The old Daoist, who was good at observing Qi, focused more on the soldiers behind him. The Eagle Guard was covered in iron armor. His body was as graceful as a woman's, which made him look very unique.
Daoist Qing Huai, who was already at the peak of grade two, had been stuck in a state where he wanted to break through but couldn't. For cultivators, as long as they broke through to the Master Realm, most of them would reach the Mystic Realm as soon as they reached grade one. This was also why Dao Sect Masters were called Little Daoist Masters. However, Daoist Qing Huai never showed his strength to outsiders. Even when he did show his strength, he was still around Grade Three. Therefore, in Hwangnam County, he was only known for his research on Daoist techniques. Daoist Qing Huai used the Dipper Steps. Just as the hidden talisman formation was about to be activated, a Buddhist chant sounded. Daoist Qing Huai's face turned cold. He climbed from Grade Three to Grade Two. He shouted softly. The Iron Horse Wind Chimes jingled and the big red lantern swayed. The old monk chanted again, but the talisman formation was still unable to be activated.
At this time and place, the Dao was one foot tall and the Buddha was ten feet tall.
Daoist Qing Huai finally stopped hiding his strength. His entire Daoist robe puffed up like a ball. However, the old monk had already closed his eyes. The old monk entered a meditative state and listened to the gentle sound of the bells.
The leading soldier stepped onto the corridor and broke through the aura shield with one strike. The price was huge. His entire body was covered in blood. He didn't care about his face and cut open the Daoist's abdomen. His other hand held the hilt of the sword and increased his strength. He charged forward and knocked Daoist Qing Huai, who was determined to multitask, into the wall. The tip of the sword didn't just pierce through the old Daoist's body, it even went a few inches out of the wall.
The soldier who was close to the Diamond Body spat out a mouthful of blood. He raised his arm and wiped the blood off his face.
The armored soldier behind spoke. Her voice was clear and crisp. She should be a young woman. "Wutongin's secret order allows you to change Qing Rong Temple into a temple."
The old monk put his palms together and chanted, "Amitabha."
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