Chapter 244: Disasters and Decline, Donghua Qingshu
Chapter 244: Disasters and Decline, Donghua Qingshu
"The wind of karma is fierce, blowing all living beings into the sea of old age, sickness and death."
——Great Wisdom Treatise
In ancient Western Buddhism, it is believed that the karmic wind in the world causes people to age and destroys the lifespan of all living beings.
Coincidentally, there is also a classic theory in Taoism that wind can drive the stars to move and rotate, can blow mulberry sea into mulberry fields, and can blow flesh and blood into dry bones. Such explanations were made in Cheng Xinzhan's "Tian Gang Di Xun Ren Ling Zhang Shen Ben Jing" and "Zhao Feng Tong Yun Fu Mi" which were practiced.
It is also said that there are "winds of disasters, plagues and five declines" between heaven and earth. When they blow, grass and trees wither and people die young. This is the killing power of heaven and earth.
Taoism believes that using wind to shorten life and speed up the passage of time is a kind of disaster, which is the power of heaven and earth and will not be seen unless a great disaster occurs.
This kind of calamity wind has great consequences for cultivation, and if one is not careful, the practitioner will age prematurely. According to legend, only the ruler of the ancient heaven, the Queen Mother of the West, can control this wind.
The Queen Mother of the West is an ancient deity who lived a long time ago. Today, her legacy has been weakened. Moreover, most of the legacy she has passed down is about the way for female practitioners to become immortals and the way for the golden essence of the West. There has never been any record of a disaster wind.
In addition, Taoist practitioners believe that not only external disasters can cause aging, but once wind evil arises in the human body, it can also cause stagnation of qi and blood, weakening of internal organs, and accelerated aging.
As the Shangqing School's Huangting Neijing Jing says: "Liver wind shakes all the meridians, and life is like a candle that suddenly goes out."
This is also the reason why Cheng Xinzhan has always attached so much importance to the inner spirit of Fengzhai and has been hesitant for many years.
The immortal way values life. After realizing that wind evil is harmful to lifespan, many methods of curbing wind and eliminating evil were proposed. These methods are often mentioned in the qigong, guiding and inner alchemy methods of various sects.
But also because the immortal way values life, after understanding wind evil, no one will think about controlling or nurturing wind evil to accelerate the passing of their own lifespan.
Due to reasons of inheritance and philosophy, in today's Taoism, no matter whether it is external wind or internal wind, there is no Taoist technique related to accelerating the passage of time.
Cheng Xinzhan wanted to explore this area based on the wind magic and inner alchemy he had learned, but there were too few spells and classics for reference.
Fortunately, there are stones from other mountains that can help us polish jade.
After hearing that the Xikang demon monks practiced "bone contemplation", "no mind contemplation", and "cold and heat contemplation", Cheng Xinzhan suddenly had an idea and immediately thought of the Kutuo lineage in ancient Western Buddhism. After returning from Hanwei Temple, he found an ancient Western Buddhist scripture "The Sutra of the Governing Collection of All Dharmas" from the Shituo Cave in Tianshao Mountain in the cave stone.
This is a scripture that outlines the many methods of ancient Western Buddhism. He remembered that there was a brief introduction to the Kutuo lineage in it.
Sure enough, he remembered correctly. He only glanced at the Buddhist scriptures in the Shitu Cave, but he had an impression that they mentioned the practice of wind. However, he thought that ancient Western Buddhism had probably disappeared, so he did not delve into it.
Now that he came to Xikang, he started to think about it again.
The Kutuo lineage, the "suffering of weak wind" among the eight sufferings.
This lineage of practice, combined with one's own personal experience of suffering from aging, allows one to realize the true meaning of practice and life.
However, Monk Han Shi also said that the suffering of declining wind is extremely dangerous among the eight sufferings. Once the practice goes wrong, one will turn into a pile of dry bones. There are very few people who practice this. As far as he knows, there are only two temples in Xikang that practice this method.
----
"Ren Ying."
Cheng Xinzhan came to Yan Renying's abode, the door of which was wide open. He saw the young man reviewing something at his desk, his back still straight.
Yan Renying was very happy to see Cheng Xinzhan coming and quickly stood up to greet him.
"Yunlai, sit down."
Cheng Xinzhan sat down opposite Yan Renying's desk.
"Yunlai, you have been practicing in seclusion since you came back. I have always wanted to thank you in person but I couldn't bother you. I never thought you would come to my door in person."
Yan Renying poured Cheng Xinzhan a cup of tea.
Cheng Xinzhan smiled and said,
"I gained something during the battle, so I closed the door in a hurry. Sorry for the laugh."
Yan Renying shook his head.
"If you can gain something from the battle, you must consolidate it in time. Yunlai is a great talent."
At this point, Yan Renying smiled and exclaimed,
"When Yunlai made a move, his skills were so amazing that we couldn't attack Hanwei Temple for a long time, but Yunlai hit it with one strike. These days, Yunlai Sanren's name has spread throughout Jian Pavilion."
Cheng Xinzhan knew what was going on immediately. He said,
"It must be that Fu Yan is praising me too much."
Yan Renying smiled and shook his head.
"This is the truth, how can it be said to be false praise?"
The two chatted for a while. Cheng Xinzhan knew that Yan Renying was in charge of a department and was very busy, so he didn't delay and directly explained his purpose.
"Ren Ying, do you have any books or documents about the Xiushou Monastery in Fengxiling?"
Yan Renying was stunned when he heard this, but he immediately nodded and said,
"Yes, why do you ask this?"
Cheng Xinzhan said,
"I just learned that the Xikang Demon Sect is so rampant that they even keep mortals in captivity. Now that I know the inside story, how can I sit still? Naturally, I have to go and kill the demon."
Yan Renying nodded, and then said,
"Everyone wants to exorcise demons, but Yunlai, this Xiushou Zen Temple is not easy to deal with. There are strong winds all year round in Fengxiling, and it is difficult for ordinary people to even get close."
Cheng Xinzhan heard this and said,
"Don't worry, I am a wind practitioner. I chose this place specifically, so I am sure of it."
After hearing this, Yan Renying stopped trying to persuade him and said,
"Then wait a moment, Yunlai. I will ask someone familiar with the terrain to go with you."
Cheng Xinzhan stopped him and said,
"Thank you Renying for your kindness, but I am used to being a free-spirited person and I am used to fighting alone. I just need Renying to give me the relevant books and documents."
Then he added,
"Don't worry, Renying. I know you are in a critical period. If you kill the demon, I will carve a stone to record your achievement for Xichuan Jiange."
Yan Renying felt a little embarrassed when he heard this. He said,
"Hey, Yunlai is thoughtful. How about this? When you kill the demon and come back, I will pay you twice the reward of a Xuanmen disciple for killing a demon. Is that okay?"
Cheng Xinzhan waved his hand and said with a smile,
"That's not necessary. I can just ask Renying to teach me some swordsmanship when the time comes."
Yan Renying naturally agreed, and then personally took Cheng Xinzhan to a library, where there were many bookshelves and a large collection of volumes.
Yan Renying introduced,
"When I, the Xuanmen, entered Kang, I naturally made a lot of preparations. These are the files compiled by my Xuanmen disciples who traveled and explored in Xikang over the past hundred years."
He brought Cheng Xinzhan to a bookshelf, took out a jade slip and handed it to Cheng Xinzhan.
"This is the map and documents of Xiushou Zen Temple. Yunlai, when you go there, don't expect to achieve success in one go. Be careful in everything you do."
Cheng Xinzhan took the jade slip, probed into it with his mind, wrote down the contents, and then handed it back. There were not many records about this Xiushou Zen Temple, and it seemed that it was really dangerous and difficult to sneak into.
However, it is good to have these rough records. After all, we are deep in the devil's hideout and we are afraid of being in the dark.
Don't think it's easy to kill Monk Han Shi, but that's because Wu Mei had tried twice before and knew Monk Han Shi's methods, knew that there was something strange about the cold fog, and knew that there were mortals in the temple. If she went there alone without knowing anything, it would definitely not be that easy.
Moreover, with the Xuanmen documents, it was like verifying whether the words from the monk Han Shi were true or false. Cheng Xinzhan also saw people coming in and out of this place to read, they should be the Xuanmen disciples preparing for the demon slaying. He thought about it and said to Yan Renying,
"Ren Ying, my two boys are considered good fighters in the Second Realm. The Sword Pavilion is austere and the demonic plague is terrifying. It's not good for them to play around all day. I'll let them come to your place to take on the task, and please take care of them."
Yan Renying immediately agreed after hearing this.
It is not easy to make a golden elixir, and it is rare everywhere. Most of the Xuanmen disciples in Jiange are in the second realm. Xikang is so big, it is impossible for all of them to be big demons. There are still many second-level demons, so if there are second-level demons who are willing to exorcise demons and come to Jiange to work, Yan Renying welcomes them very much, and the more the better.
What he was thinking was that since Cheng Xinzhan was so powerful, his two boys would naturally not be much worse.
Cheng Xinzhan nodded, said goodbye to Yan Renying, left the library, said hello to Bailong Zhaoli, and then left Jiange first.
----
Fengxiling, like Hanwei Lake, is located in the hinterland of Xikang, between the Jinsha River and the Yalong River, about two hundred miles southeast of Hanwei Lake.
Cheng Xinzhan came riding on the wind and soon arrived at the place.
He stood in mid-air, looking from afar. He saw that the steep cliffs on both sides of the mountain were as if cut by knives and axes. There was no grass or trees on the mountain. The red rocks were exposed, jagged like ghost teeth.
In the middle of this mountain range, there is a narrow ravine, as if it was cut by a sword, and is less than a hundred steps wide.
The wind here never stops blowing, and it gets stronger as it pours into the narrow ravine, howling and sweeping up sand and gravel on the ground and stone walls, wrapping them in the wind and hitting the rock walls on both sides, making clanging sounds and flying sparks, just like a blacksmith forging weapons.
Therefore, this place is also called Anvil Gorge.
The wind was foul, sand and rocks were flying, and there were sparks, making it impossible to see what was happening inside the gorge.
Cheng Xinzhan used his pupil technique, and his right eye flashed with green light, and the situation in the wind gradually became clear.
In the middle of this narrow ravine, on the shady stone wall, about a hundred feet above the ground, there is a cave and a Hanging Temple.
The stone wall has cave eaves, wooden cliffs, empty pavilions and hanging niches, with dangerous rocks above and deep valleys below, which is extremely dangerous. Moreover, the hanging temple is all black and is on the dark side of the dark wall, almost blending into the cliff. Especially when you look inside the temple gate, it is dark and eerie, which is extremely scary.
There was a rope on the eaves of the cave, one end of which was tied to the eaves and the other end was inserted into the stone wall. There were many small white flags densely tied to the rope.
Cheng Xinzhan was compiling the geography of Xikang, so he recognized this object. It should be the wind horse flag, also known as the prayer flag, which is unique to Xikang and Tubo. However, in general, the wind horse flag is a five-color flag of white, yellow, red, blue and green, but he has never seen such a white flag.
The white flags fluttered in the wind like paper money on a grave.
There was a plaque hanging on the eaves of the cave, with four words engraved on it:
"Xiushou Zen Temple".
After checking the documents from Monk Han Shi and Xichuan Jiange, there is both good news and bad news.
The good news is that there is only one monk named Kufeng in this "Xiushou Zen Temple", not to mention mortals, even his disciples and grandchildren are not there. Monk Hanshi said that "Weifengku" is too difficult to practice. People who practice this method are surrounded by a dead wind, and ordinary people cannot get close to it. In addition, the terrain of Fengxiling is dangerous, the wind is howling, and the devil's voice is piercing the ears. Mortals can't survive.
The bad news has just been mentioned. The Weeping Wind Monk is surrounded by deathly wind and is extremely difficult to deal with. He is already in the Three Baptisms Realm and is extremely powerful. He also has the advantage of the terrain. In this Wind Erosion Ridge, it can be said that he has no rival in the same realm.
"Call him and see if you can make him shout out."
Cheng Xinzhan offered the gourd and spoke to the soul of the monk Han Shi inside. The two temples were not far from each other, and the monk Han Shi and the crying monk were old acquaintances.
Then, he opened the gourd mouth, and the thoughts of the monk Han Shi's soul began to sound on Fengshi Ridge.
"Old monk! See you outside the temple!"
Cheng Xinzhan waited quietly for a few moments, but no one responded.
"Maybe you're not home today?"
Monk Han Shi said to Cheng Xinzhan.
But just as he finished speaking, he heard a weak voice coming from the Xiushou Zen Temple, as if there was a leak in the throat.
"Monk, have you forgotten that my wind can bring news from afar? Your Hanwei Temple was destroyed three days ago, and your head was cut off by Xichuan Jian Pavilion. I guess you are here with people from Xuanmen now, right?"
Monk Han Shi's expression changed and he looked at Cheng Xinzhan.
Cheng Xinzhan's expression did not change. Since he could not trick them, he would just attack them by force. With only Xiushou Zen Temple and a crying monk, he could not use any tricks.
Wood overcomes wind, life overcomes death, and yang overcomes yin.
To deal with such a dark and life-destroying demon, we should kill it with the wooden sword and Yang method.
Cheng Xinzhan reached out his left hand into the void, and a ball of green light appeared in the void where his hand landed. The green light then spread horizontally to both sides, forming a long strip. Then, the green light converged, and a green-sheathed Tang sword was held in his hand.
Tang swords are so beautiful, they have the majesty of Han swords and the beauty of Song swords.
The green scabbard looks like a slender black eyebrow or a newly grown spring leaf, and the mouth of the scabbard is covered with yellow cloud gold ornaments. The sword guard is extremely simple and simple, straight and shaped like a "one", slightly wider than the hilt, and almost as wide as the scabbard.
The hilt was wrapped in dark green shark skin, fitting the palm perfectly. The handle was a jade-gold plate, round like a full moon, with fine winding branches carved around the edge.
He looked at the long sword in his hand with some emotion, and walked towards the Wind Erosion Ridge with a step in the air, chanting,
"Twenty years of nurturing the sword, a wooden dragon is hidden in the liver.
I will unsheathe my sword today, slay the devil and prove my profound skill."
He placed his right hand on the hilt and drew the sword from its sheath. The mighty sword energy that had been cultivated for more than twenty years burst out like the blue aurora in the northern polar region, dreamy and floating, connecting the sky and the earth.
The long sword had been silent for more than twenty years, but now it was unsheathed, whistling like a phoenix. The blue clouds fell from the sky, pouring into the narrow ravine like throwing water into a mountain to fill a river.
Suddenly, the ground shook, the Wind Erosion Ridge trembled like a sieve, huge rocks fell from the mountain, and smoke and dust covered the sky. The Anvil Gorge seemed to be filled with sword energy at this moment, and the howling wind could not advance an inch when it reached the gorge, so it had to bypass the mountains on both sides.
The green sword energy did not dissipate all at once, but condensed into a green dragon from the grand rays of light, tumbling back and forth in the narrow ravine, as if it would not stop until it cracked the mountain.
Under the raging sword energy, the strings of white wind horse flags that had remained intact in the strong wind that blew through the gorge were immediately torn into pieces, flying in the canyon, looking more and more like funeral paper money.
The exquisite and steep cliff eaves quickly turned into ashes, but the Zen temple plaque was a treasure. After being blasted into a spider web shape by the sword energy, it still hadn't broken apart. At this moment, it was clinging to the cliff wall, emitting a black light, resisting the sword energy and protecting the dark hole in the cliff wall.
However, seeing that the cracks on the plaque are getting bigger and bigger, it probably won't last much longer.
"court death!"
A low roar came from the cave, and then a fierce monk with gray beard and gray robe flew out of the cave.
The monk spotted Cheng Xinzhan hanging in the air and immediately pounced on him.
But at this moment, Qingqiu's sword energy was still there, and he rushed up when he saw the demon coming out.
At the same time, Cheng Xinzhan stepped forward with a sword in hand. At this time, he could finally see the full appearance of the sword in his hand.
The sword is three feet and eight inches long, which corresponds to the wood number in the River Chart: "Heaven gives birth to wood with three, and Earth completes it with eight."
The sword body is as bright as a sunny day after rain, with double edges on the blade and a clear ridge in the middle, running straight through the whole body, like a dragon's spine. The edges on both sides converge into an arc at the tip of the sword, shaped like a willow leaf, with a restrained edge.
Under the sword guard, the four-character sword name is engraved:
"Donghua Qingshu".
(End of this chapter)