ATPnovel Chapter 333 Wandering Monk
Chapter 333 Wandering Monk
The Way of Breath Control, the Secret Realm.
The sun shines brightly, and in the distance, snow-capped mountains stretch endlessly, surrounded by clouds and mist.
Below the mountain lies a large, sapphire-blue lake, its shores lined with lush green grass and home to a large herd of yaks…
Fang Qing was wearing a tattered red and yellow monk's robe, had a short haircut, and his appearance had changed drastically. He walked barefoot on the ground, imitating an ascetic monk.
According to the viewpoint of the Tantric Buddhist scriptures... the Tantric realm is a special whole, possessing a common origin, from which "Vairocana Buddha" was born, followed by numerous Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, temples, monks, noble chieftains, slaves...
Therefore, in the Hidden Land, there was a clear class distinction: the first class was monks, the second class was noble chieftains and landowners, and then came free people and slaves...
There were several herders beside the yak herd. When they saw Fang Qing approaching, they all knelt respectfully by the roadside and bowed devoutly.
Where is this place?
Fang Qing sat on a rock by the roadside and asked casually.
Seeing that he wanted to rest, the most beautiful shepherdess quickly stepped forward and offered him tsampa, as well as dried beef, milk curds and other food.
Fang Qing could see very clearly that this beef jerky and milk curd were probably the best food they had on them.
At this point, taking it out is perfectly natural, as it is a matter of course to offer one's most precious possession to the guru.
This is similar to how, in ancient times, old men and women would never eat more oil in their entire lives, but would use the money they saved to donate incense and oil at temples.
"I hereby inform the auspicious Guru that this place is Lake Lanwa, and on its shore lies the estate of Lord Darchen..."
A chieftain touched his forehead to the ground and said in a respectful and cautious tone, "Lord Darchen worships the Hayagriva Temple, which is a three-hour ride east..."
"I see."
Fang Qing took another sip of goat milk. In Sanskrit, "Tachin" means "Dharma flag," which is normal, since everyone in this secret place is a devout believer.
He stood up, ready to leave.
This hidden place is indeed quite unusual; it seems to have the feel of being a "world of its own." It might even truly contain a hidden source...
Just then, the man suddenly knelt down and kowtowed, continuing, "Merciful Guru... Lord Darchen's house has recently been disturbed by evil spirits. Please go and investigate, Guru. Lord Darchen will surely treat you as his most honored guest..."
"Demons? My secret path excels at subduing demons!"
Fang Qing sneered, but was secretly making calculations.
"Oh...humans aren't livestock after all. When oppressed so terribly, there will always be a few aberrant beings who want to rebel...and this Dao of Submission is a world where great power returns to oneself, so lucky ones can still enter the Dao by chance..."
"But that's pretty useless; any large temple nearby could easily suppress it..."
"Hmm? This Darchen Manor, however, has been dedicated to the gurus of Hayagriva Monastery for generations... but recently Hayagriva Monastery has declined, and several large surrounding temples are encroaching on its territory and followers..."
"This time, Darchen is being disturbed by evil spirits not because slaves rebelled after becoming monks, but because lamas from nearby temples are performing rituals... Hayagriva Monastery could suffer a great loss if they're not careful."
The saying "the Purple Palace governs the world" is not just empty talk.
For example, at this moment, Fang Qing did some random calculations, and although he still couldn't figure out the specific situation of the several major temples plotting against the Horse Head Vajra Temple, he was very clear about the tricks of the Darchen Manor.
"What do I care if a slave owner lives or dies?"
Snapped!
Therefore, Fang Qing kicked the man over: "The Buddha has other important matters to attend to. How could a mere headman of a manor like you possibly persuade him? If you want to persuade the Buddha, your master Tachin would have to come in person, bringing three bushels of gold, ten bushels of silver, ten bushels of pearls, and paving the ground with silk, with butter lamps lit along the way. Only then would the Buddha be interested..."
"Yes, yes..."
The man lay prone on the ground, not daring to move, secretly lamenting that he had offended a monk with great magical power.
After returning home, he still had to worry about the master pulling out his tongue...
Fang Qing, however, left leisurely, measuring the earth with his footsteps.
He wasn't walking fast, but his figure disappeared without a trace.
After crossing a hill, a temple with white walls and a golden roof came into view.
Although the walls are mottled, the temple roof is covered with gold leaf, making it look magnificent...
The saying "The Sun favors metal, and the Moon favors silver" is truly well-deserved!
"The cultivators of the Great Sun Dao lineage really do love using gold..."
Fang Qing arrived at the gate of the Matou Jingang Temple and knocked on the gate.
A short while later, the temple gates opened, revealing the head of a servant monk: "Who are you?"
Every temple has a large number of "servant monks," who, as the lowest-ranking monastic disciples, serve numerous masters, arhats, and Dharma kings...
Fang Qing smiled and said, "This humble monk is Yun Dan, a wanderer who has come to stay for a while..."
"An ascetic monk?"
Upon hearing this, the monk's face flashed with a hint of disapproval.
Ascetics might be able to bully slaves, commoners, and plantation owners, but in the eyes of monks in truly great temples, they're no different from beggars...
Furthermore, they often lack powerful backers or connections...
"Go away... Our temple is busy and doesn't accept ascetic monks."
The monk immediately waved his hand to drive them away and was about to close the temple gate.
The monk immediately waved his hand to drive them away and was about to close the temple gate.
Clang!
Fang Qing chuckled and stretched his arm through the door, forcefully blocking the closed door.
"You...you...you..."
The monk was terrified. Even if the Hayagriva Temple was in decline, it was still a lineage of the Dharma King, and the mandala formation was not fake.
Above the temple gate alone, there are two powerful demon guardians, comparable to two gurus.
Even for ordinary Dao Foundation cultivators, preventing the gate from closing would not be easy.
What's more, this ascetic monk did it with brute force!
This made the monks realize that a very important person had arrived.
It should be noted that although most ascetics are beggars, there are also some truly powerful individuals who enjoy asceticism to enhance their spiritual cultivation.
"Please wait a moment, Master, I will go and report this immediately..."
The monks immediately opened the temple gates and ran away as fast as they could.
……
The Matou Jingang Temple covers a very large area.
Besides the rooms where the monks lived, there were also the Medicine King Hall, the Scripture Academy, the temple prison, and so on...
Inside the main hall, butter lamps burn continuously, and the Hayagriva deity is enshrined.
It has three faces and eight arms, its entire body is crimson, it holds skull bowls, vajras and other sacred implements, and is adorned with snake ornaments...
The abbot was a middle-aged monk, unremarkable in appearance, but radiating a faint golden light, clearly indicating that he had achieved considerable skill in the "Hayagriva Protector Divine Skill," having already attained the level of a fully accomplished master, equivalent to the perfection of the foundational path.
At this moment, several other masters also gathered here, their faces filled with fear and anxiety: "Lotus Temple is too arrogant. That 'Lotus-Eyed Bright' was just a lowly servant monk before. He was lucky enough to obtain the lineage transmission of 'King of Wisdom Lamp Bright,' and after sitting on the lotus throne, he called himself 'Lotus-Eyed Bright Disciple'... He even threatened us with offerings from the Great Snow Mountain... Abbot, what should we do?"
They said they weren't afraid, but they were actually terrified inside.
After all, a single monk can easily crush a group of gurus.
"Our temples, which are lineages of Dharma, are fulfilling their duty to make offerings to the Great Snow Mountain in a sincere and respectful manner to the Great Sun Buddha... It is an obligation we cannot shirk."
The abbot hesitated, "But Lotus Temple's collusion with the envoy from the Great Snow Mountain to increase the offerings to my Horse-Headed Vajra Temple has ulterior motives... How much is he demanding?"
"Three hundred bottles of blood essence, and a whole bunch of gold, agate, ghee... these mundane things are all fine."
A master clasped his hands together, and said with grief and indignation, "But he still needs thirteen skulls of those who have achieved enlightenment... Even our temple doesn't have that many!"
Those who have achieved success in spiritual practice, also known as those who possess some profound knowledge, all mean the same thing: they have laid the foundation for the path and reached the level of a esoteric master or higher!
Even ordinary Qi-cultivating cultivators are not qualified!
The temple abbot frowned; this was truly putting people in a difficult position.
"Master...the only option now is to ask Venerable Wunengsheng to take charge of the situation."
In the Horse-Headed Vajra Temple, the temple abbots, the heads of various departments, the jailers, etc., were all only responsible for handling miscellaneous matters.
The only one who is supreme is the "Incompetent Son" who once followed the Dharma King.
Horse Head Vajra Monastery, after all, is a lineage of the Dharma Kings and once had a glorious past, producing several Dharma Kings. However, it later declined, and only one Dharma King is left to struggle to keep it afloat.
During the later "Eastern Expedition of Ecclesiastes", that Dharma King passed away in the Hehuan School, and four of his disciples and nuns died.
The only one left to guard the temple, "Incompetent Master," was lucky enough to survive, as he was not dragged down with the Dharma King before his death.
Even though he survived, his life was still miserable. First of all, he lost his "Du Zi" rank.
Fortunately, he diligently cultivated and had already reached the "Hayagriva Wrathful Stage" of the "Hayagriva Protector Divine Skill" when he was ordained. Even without the blessing of his position, he could easily suppress the perfected foundation of the path with his golden body alone.
However, he was still no match for any of the Bodhisattvas or Tara.
As a result, the Horse-Headed Vajra Temple declined and dared not clash with any of the major temples in the vicinity.
Lotus Temple, on the other hand, was originally just a small temple, but it soared to great heights because of the emergence of a "Lotus-Eyed Myodoko".
Now they even want to take advantage of the opportunity of the offering to the Great Snow Mountain to justify punishing the Horse-Headed Vajra Temple and reducing its assets...
Just as the abbot was pondering, a monk rushed over, but it was not the same monk who had been serving before.
The lowly monks were not qualified to enter the main hall; the one who entered was the abbot's disciple.
He approached the abbot and whispered a few words in his ear. The abbot's expression changed slightly: "The ascetic monk Yun Dan? Have any of you fellow disciples heard of him?"
The court officials and prison wardens exchanged bewildered glances: "Never..."
"Alright, let's go and see if the visitor is hostile. If so, we'll open the mandala and perform a ritual to keep that person here... which will serve as an offering for the Great Snow Mountain."
The temple abbot narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing a cunning and cruel look.
When the group of eminent monks arrived at the gate of the Horse Head Vajra Temple, they saw Fang Qing standing calmly, like a majestic mountain, yet also exuding a sense of closeness as if they shared the same roots.
"This... the 'Horse-Headed Vajra Protector Divine Skill'?"
The temple abbot was taken aback, recognizing the body-refining aura that Fang Qing was deliberately emitting: "May I ask which esteemed monk you are?"
"Venerable One above... This humble monk is Yundan."
Fang Qing smiled slightly: "I'm just an ascetic monk who has formed a karmic bond with your temple and mastered a protective divine skill, but unfortunately it's incomplete, so I've come to ask for your guidance..."