Chapter 229: Cool and beautiful place, wild cranes and clouds come

Chapter 229: Cool and beautiful place, wild cranes and clouds come

Chapter 229: Cool and beautiful place, wild cranes and clouds come

If we compare the southwestern land of China to a piece of hemp paper, and the God of Nature presses one hand on the snowy plateau and the other hand on the Bashu Basin, and pushes towards the middle, layer upon layer of north-south folds can be squeezed out.

This fold is Xikang.

The folds rise to form mountains and sink to form valleys, with the river rushing and roaring in the cracks.

The earth veins are crossed, the steep rocks are competing with each other, the water veins are vertical, and five rivers flow parallel.

The terrain here is complex and the practice of cultivation is even more chaotic, even worse than in the Wuling Mountain area.

To the west of Xikang is the snowy plateau, and the two places are separated by the Nujiang River.

The snowy plateau formed a separate area called Tubo, which was the last remnant of ancient Western Buddhism. After the Zen Buddhism drove the ancient Buddhas across Xikang, it felt that there was no need to continue driving them away.

The remnants of ancient Western Buddhism took root in the uncivilized Tubo at that time, and like the remnants in Tianshao Mountain, they lost contact with the Western Pure Land of Buddhism.

After a long time, although it did not completely degenerate into a cult like Tianshao Mountain, it also became an extremely evil and strange sect called Maha Sect.

Moreover, there are no other Dharma lineages on the snowy plateau willing to preach here. Mahaism is the only dominant sect, and it even calls itself the "Snowy Buddhist Kingdom."

In fact, as time goes by, the Maha religion has less and less traces of Buddhism, and instead is filled with weirdness and evil.

The monk Chuanxin who was released from the Demon Cult not long ago was from the Maha Cult.

To the north of Xikang is the West Sea, with the Tongtian River as its boundary. The West Sea is where the Northern Demon Cult occupies its territory, and the famous West Kunlun Blood Palace is located here.

South of Xikang is Dianwen, with Yunling as its boundary. Dianwen is the place where the Southern Demon Cult reaches out, and the Ailao Mountain, a major sect of the Demon Cult, is located here.

Logically speaking, the place is surrounded by demons on three sides and has such a complex terrain. Logically speaking, it should be a place where filth and evil are hidden and demons run rampant.

But in fact, the beauty here is unique, like a paradise. Although there are demons from the north and south, and evil Buddhas from the west, it is not all dirty.

There are many side doors here, as well as high-ranking monks living in seclusion and practicing Taoism and Zen.

This is a place where good and evil coexist in peace.

But why is it that the land surrounded by demons on three sides is not swallowed up by the evil demons, but instead becomes a buffer zone with the righteous path?
There is only one reason.

Because to the east of Xikang is the Bashu Basin, the land of abundance and the location of the Western Shu Xuanmen.

The Dadu River serves as the boundary between Xikang and Bashu, and the two major leading sects of the Western Shu Xuanmen, Mount Emei and Mount Qingcheng, are both located in the western part of Shu, one in the south and the other in the north, only about 800 miles away from the Dadu River.

It was because of the various Xuanmen sects in Shu that separated the integration of the northern and southern demonic sects and blocked the evil Buddhas from the West from advancing eastward.

This is what is meant by one mystery blocking three demons.

Xikang was surrounded by these three mysterious demons.

Because of the three demons, there are always demons roaming around here. Because of the mystery, the demons here can never become big shots.

However, it seems that some new changes have taken place here recently. The monk Chuanxin, who was sealed by Emei Changmei Zhenren himself, broke the seal a few years ago.

This monk Chuanxin is no simple person. He was a top figure in the fourth realm hundreds of years ago. At that time, there were rumors that he would enter the fifth realm. Moreover, this person is proficient in magic and his methods are extremely evil. When he was in the fourth realm, he escaped from the hands of the righteous fifth realm masters many times, and he is very difficult to deal with.

Now, after being found and released by the Northern Demon Cult, this person refused to join any of the Northern sects and chose to come to Xikang to set up his own sect. He is currently recruiting soldiers.

----

In the eastern part of Xikang, on the west bank of the Dadu River, just a thousand miles west of Mount Emei, stands a group of towering snow-capped mountains.

There are more than ten high mountains here, forming a ridge that stretches for more than 200 miles from north to south.

The mountains here are not like those in the southeast. They are not misty and hazy, nor are they round and graceful. The mountains here look like they were chiseled out by knives and axes.

Under the clear blue sky, the outlines of the mountains are so clear.

Even if there are drifting clouds blown here by the wind, the mountains here will never know how to keep them or linger. When drifting clouds pass over the snow-capped mountains, they will only be split in two by the sharp edge of the snow-capped mountains.

The tops of the mountains here are covered with solid ice and snow that never melt all year round, but the strong winds on the tops of the mountains are so fierce and violent that they blow ice and snow foam from one mountain top to another.

Sometimes the wind is strong, and ice chips and snow foam flutter in the wind, like a white dragon or a flag, which can be clearly seen hundreds of miles away.

Therefore, this snow mountain is called Bailongqi Mountain by people in Kangshu area.

Bailongqi Mountain is extremely beautiful, with a height difference of ten thousand feet between the peak on the top and the Dadu River at the foot of the mountain.

There are rushing rivers and colorful pools in the valley, with flowers blooming on both sides and green banana trees. On the mountainside, azaleas are like clouds and waterfalls are like dragons, while the top of the mountain is covered with snow.

Precisely because of the charming and beautiful scenery here, and the spiritual energy as rich as snow, as early as the Tang and Song dynasties, many wandering hermits on this snowy mountain opened up caves here to attain enlightenment and practice Zen. There were even several ancient monks who ascended to heaven in the snow, and there are still traces of their ascension to immortality left today.

Over the years, many monks came here to practice, either building new caves or borrowing old caves to live in. Even in the Xuanmen of Shu, many elders and masters specially built their own houses here, and would stay here for a while after practicing to enjoy the mountains and snow.

Since ancient times, this place can be said to be a land without a master, and even a powerful tribe like Emei has never claimed to monopolize it. However, because everyone wants to come here, if a newcomer wants to open a cave here and gain a foothold, it will definitely not work without some strength.

On this day, three guests arrived at the foot of the Bailongqi Mountain, which towers into the sky.

The three of them stood on the west bank of the Dadu River, looking up at the snow-capped mountains.

The leader among the three was a young Taoist priest, who looked to be less than 30 years old, with a slender figure and an angelic face, and was handsome and gentle as jade.

The Taoist wore a cloud-patterned Hunyuan scarf on his head, a jade lotus crown on his head, and a sky-blue plain robe next to his body. Inside was a jade-green robe, and on the outside was a dark blue Taoist robe. In his hand, he held a rather small whisk, which he gently shook.

When outsiders see the Taoist priest's attire, they can tell at a glance that he is a hermit who practices asceticism.

Behind the Taoist priest were two children, one boy and one girl.

The two boys were younger, about ten years old, and their clothes were much more lively and brighter than the Taoist's. It was obvious that they were brought up in pampered condition.

The boy had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and was dressed in white. He was holding a magic sword with a black sheath in his arms. The tassel of the sword was quite long, and was tied with twelve beads. It looked like it was carved from giant clams, and it made waves when it was shaken.

The girl was sweet and innocent, wearing a colorful dress and holding a red gourd in her arms. The skin of the gourd was red, like a frosted leaf in February, with naturally formed gall patterns on it, like stars and clouds, faintly emitting a glow of fire.

The girl kept secretly glancing at the boy, with a smile in her eyes.

The boy knew what the girl was laughing at, and he kept laughing all the way!

At the beginning, they both transformed almost at the same time. The girl transformed into a little girl, but he transformed into a tall and strong man.

This time, thanks to the master's kindness, he asked me if I would like to go on a long journey together. Of course I agreed.

But after the master said that he wanted to change his true identity and travel under an alias, she started to come up with new ideas. She said that as two children accompanying the master, it would be inappropriate for them to be two big and one small, and it would definitely arouse suspicion. So she had to transform herself from a strong and handsome man into a boy of the same age as her.

But the master actually agreed to such a bad idea, how miserable!

Bai Long felt uncomfortable being stared at by the little girl, so he started talking to the Taoist priest in front of him.
"Master, it is said that every inch of land in Bailongqi Mountain is valuable and they are unwilling to accept outsiders. If you want to enter the mountain to open a cave, you have to pass the test set by the monks on the mountain. Do we have to come to this mountain? Along the way, we have come across many unowned or sparsely populated sacred mountains."

The Taoist priest was none other than Cheng Xinzhan. He had changed his attire from a purple robe to a green robe. His figure remained the same, only his facial features had changed.

He changed his phoenix eyes into almond eyes, his sword-like eyebrows into distant mountain eyebrows, put on beads on his lips, and added a little warm yellow to his skin color from cold white. It was just such a small change, but he looked like two completely different people, from a noble and imposing master of all laws to a hermit like Lao Zhuang who was looking for mountains and rivers.

He nodded and said,
"This Bailongqi Mountain is unlike any other place. It has been popular since the Tang and Song dynasties. It is a place of great influence in Kangdong and is well-informed. Moreover, it is the hub of Xikang and Shuzhong. The people here have contact with both the mysterious and demonic ways. It is the most suitable place for us."

Cheng Zhaoli heard this and said,
"Silly, we should go wherever the master says. Why are you asking so many questions?"

Bai Long said nothing.

"Humph, you dullard!"

Zhao Li was a little unhappy when she saw Bai Long was silent after saying the last sentence. "Hey, you little idiot!"

But the girl couldn't sit still, and couldn't hide her anger. Seeing that Bai Long didn't say anything, she ran to him and touched his head.

Bailong dodged in panic, and Zhaoli quickly chased after him.

Cheng Xinzhan looked at this scene and a smile appeared on his face. Before the dog transformed, it always held the cat in its mouth and played with it. How come it knew to avoid suspicion after transforming?

The same thing happened to my junior sister. After she transformed, she was not allowed to enter the Dragon Palace at the bottom of the pond at will, but she forgot that it was I who invited her to move in.

Naturally, the junior sister wanted to follow her on this outing, but the master had returned to the mountains. Seeing that the junior sister’s progress in cultivation was so slow, he was unwilling to let her go and said that he wanted to teach her personally.

The three of them followed the Dadu River and came to the northern foot of Bailongqi Mountain.

The rules of Bailongqi Mountain are that if you want to settle down in Bailongqi Mountain, you have to pass the tests set by the people on the mountain. If you don't follow the rules, you will be attacked by everyone.

The test on the mountain is divided into military and literary tests.

The martial arts exam starts from the southern slope and the test is very simple. You just have to fight your way up. No matter whether you are in the third realm or the fourth realm, there is no shortage of opponents to welcome you on Bailongqi Mountain. Sometimes, if you are "lucky", you can even meet the Emei swordsman who is here to rest and visit friends.

The literary examination starts from the northern slope and goes up the mountain. There are many more tricks involved, such as alchemy, treasure making, drawing talismans, breaking formations, playing chess, etc. There are more people who are good at literature than martial arts in the mountains. No matter what skills you have, there will be people who know the trade to learn from you.

Since you want to be a hermit, you naturally have to take a literary test.

There is a stone stairway at the northern foot of the mountain. At the beginning of the path there is a huge stone with four large characters engraved on it:

"A cool and refreshing place."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded as he looked at the inscription. This inscription was written with iron and silver strokes. It was so old that it still had a hint of sword spirit. It was midsummer now. The green pears on the Lixue Mountain were already extremely sweet, but the mountain breeze here was refreshing. It was indeed a "refreshing place".

Cheng Xinzhan stepped onto the stairs, and the two boys followed closely behind.

There is also a secret to this stone staircase. It was carved into the mountainside and also took advantage of the terrain. It is said that there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers in Bailongqi Mountain, and now it seems that this is true.

Among those who participated in the construction of the mountain road at that time, there must have been masters of formations and illusions. With every step taken on this mountain road, it felt like the mountain in front of them grew a little taller, and it felt like the mountain was falling towards them a little more.

The higher you go, the higher the mountain becomes, the faster it collapses, and the more terrified the climbers become, as if if they take one more step, they will be buried under the collapse of the mountain.

I guess it’s the same on the southern slope.

I believe that throughout history there have been many people who, before even taking the civil and military examinations, have stopped short of taking a single step, frustrated by these two stone mountain paths, and then given up because they saw difficulty.

Of course, there might be more difficulties later, but the current situation seemed almost non-existent to Cheng Xinzhan. He just walked up the stairs calmly, as if he was strolling in the garden.

Even Bailong and Zhaoli can keep up.

The snow-capped mountains are six thousand feet high, and the mountain path goes straight into the sky. As the three people climbed up the steps step by step, the vegetation on both sides of the path slowly changed from yellow broom, red cotton and white thorn to green oak, lichen and patches of primroses.

When large patches of colorful rhododendrons began to appear on both sides of the mountain path, the two children gradually became unable to hold on. If it weren't for the "Tian Yi Sheng Shui" and "Chi Yu" they were holding, which emitted water and fire to resist the formation, they might not have been able to get here.

Moreover, they were not the only three on the road. They also saw several groups of people going up the mountain, but they turned back and went down the mountain before they saw Dujuan. There were also a few who were so brave that they were overwhelmed by the mountain and almost fell off the cliff. Cheng Xinzhan was kind enough to reach out and grab some of them.

"Follow my footsteps and keep up."

Cheng Xinzhan said.

So, from the moment he finished speaking, every step he took would leave a green light on the stone steps.

Cheng Xinzhan was quite satisfied with the performance of the two boys. To be able to reach this place, even with the protection of magic weapons, they had a solid foundation in the second realm.

Monsters have long lifespans, so if they were to practice in the mountains, they would naturally fight for them. However, since they are following me, it is important to lay a solid foundation. It doesn't matter if my junior sister has been practicing for a hundred years and has not yet entered the third realm.

After hearing this, Bai Long asked Zhao Li to go first and he would follow behind. When Bai Long passed by, he found that the footprints left by the master immediately disappeared by themselves.

The two children walked behind Cheng Xinzhan and they no longer felt the pressure of the mountain. It was as if the mountain as high as the sky was blocked by the figure before them.

Cheng Xinzhan continued to climb the mountain following the Zhouguang Yubu. Gradually, even the rhododendrons became less common, and were replaced by blooming snow lotuses.

"Fellow Taoist, you are polite."

When Cheng Xinzhan came to a pavilion surrounded by jade railings, he heard a voice. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw three people in the pavilion looking at him, as if they were waiting for him.

He looked up at the top of the mountain again. It was very close to the top of the mountain. The strong wind seemed to be whistling in his ears, and the white dragon of ice and snow was within reach. Looking down again, the Dadu River, which was as wide as the Milky Way, was just a thin line at this moment.

He led the boy to the pavilion and returned the greeting.
"My fellow Taoists, you are polite."

There was an old man in the crowd, wearing a dark blue crane cloak, looking like a man of high moral character and prestige, and holding a whisk in his hand.

Looking at Cheng Xinzhan's demeanor and attire, the old man's eyes lit up, and he pointed to the stone bench and said,
"Fellow Taoist, please sit down."

"Please take a seat."

Cheng Xinzhan responded and sat down, and two boys stood behind him.

The three of them then sat down.

"I guess the three of you are all mountain feathered guests?"

Cheng Xinzhan looked at everyone and asked.

The three of them smiled and nodded.

"Excuse me for bothering you. I have heard for a long time that the White Dragon Snow Mountain is a rare cool and beautiful place in the world. I am also a person who loves mountains and rivers, so I want to bring the two boys to live in the treasure mountain. I hope that fellow Taoists will help me."

Cheng Xinzhan said in a gentle voice, and then added,
"I know the rules. As for the written test, please come up with the questions."

Hearing this, the old man in the crane cloak laughed and said,

"What a foolish man!"

The old man stroked his sleeves on the stone table, and steaming hot tea appeared on the table. He distributed it to everyone and then said,

"You, Daoist friend, brought your child with you as you climbed the mountain in a leisurely manner. We all saw it. To be honest, in the past half century, I have not seen anyone climbing the mountain as relaxed and comfortable as you.

"You are a mountain lover, with a clear and bright aura, and it feels like a spring breeze blowing on your face. Moreover, you have such a high level of cultivation. If you are willing to enter the mountains, we will naturally welcome you.

"However, this civil and military examination has been a thousand-year-old tradition, and we cannot go against it. Let's put it this way, fellow Taoist is a refined person, so today you don't need to light the stove and light the fire, draw talismans and set up the formation. I wonder if you are good at painting, poetry, pitching pots, secret language, etc.?"

The old man looked at Cheng Xinzhan with a smile.

This is what it means to release the water.

Cheng Xinzhan understood, so why not? After thinking about it, he said,

"Then I will offer my humble services by writing a poem for this cool and beautiful scene, okay?"

After hearing this, the three of them immediately agreed.

Cheng Xinzhan took a sip of tea, stood up and paced in the pavilion. After looking around, he pondered for a moment and said,

"The wind from the sky turns the snow into dragon scales, and the silver light pours down, shaking the earth and the mountains.

It must be the place where the immortals planted jade, and where idle clouds and wild cranes visited the Jade Capital. "

(End of this chapter)