CH 42

In Li Huowang's impression, most temples are built on mountains, and temples built in the city are relatively rare.

But he didn't care about that now. What he cared about was the name of the temple that the pilgrim just mentioned, "Zhengde Temple?"

Li Huowang immediately remembered what Zheng Kun said to Danyang Zi before he died. They seemed to have been chased by the monks of this Zhengde Temple.

His heart began to beat faster. He had found the right place after experiencing so many things along the way.

Just then, as he turned a corner, the view suddenly opened up.

Clean and tidy stone slabs stretched all the way down to a wide staircase. At the end of these hundreds of steps was a solemn temple with smoke rising and a deep red wall.

The black plaque above the tall temple gate was written in red with three large characters: Zhengde Temple.

The upper couplet read: "Cultivate virtue and plant the cause, the Dharma body is perfect and wonderful." The lower couplet read: "The water is clear and the moon appears, the jade cap is dignified."

Under the flourishing incense, the entire temple was shrouded in white smoke, looking very ethereal.

"Master, I won't accompany you inside. Please go ahead. By the way, the rules in the Western Capital are different from those in Jianye. There is a curfew at night. Please remember to come back before dark," said the pilgrim.

Li Huowang took a deep breath and walked towards the crowded steps with the pilgrims.

Following the pilgrims, they walked into the temple and saw several large halls.

At this moment, Li Huowang stood like a rock amidst the crowd, looking around at everything.

He had found the temple, but the next problem stumped him. How should he approach the monks of this temple? Should he directly say that he was Danyang Zi's disciple? He was afraid he would be killed with one slap.

Before Li Huowang could come up with a plan, the monks of Zhengde Temple approached him. After all, even in the crowded crowd, Li Huowang's Daoist robe was too eye-catching.

As soon as the other party spoke, the pure Buddhist flavor was not comparable to that of the old monk before. "Amitabha, the poor monk Jian Dun greets you."

Seeing the plump monk in front of him clasping his hands together, Li Huowang immediately returned the gesture. "Master, nice to meet you. I'm Xuan Yang."

"As a disciple of the Xuan sect, you must not have come here just to burn incense and worship the Buddha, right? This way, please," said Jian Dun.

Looking at the lively crowd around him, Li Huowang nodded and followed him towards a side door.

As they walked through the majestic temple, the noise of the crowd at the door gradually faded away. Finally, they stopped in front of a group of stone tables and benches under a shiny yellow ginkgo tree.

"Please sit down, benefactor." Jian Dun sat down and turned a string of Buddhist beads in his hands.

He didn't ask Li Huowang which sect he belonged to, nor did he ask him to show the detachment and indifference of a Buddhist disciple.

After thinking for a while, Li Huowang looked at the monk in front of him. "Danyang Zi is dead."

With a "click," the brown Buddhist beads scattered everywhere.

Seeing the fat monk standing up in front of him, Li Huowang nodded silently.

He was right. The monks here had indeed been in contact with Danyang Zi.

"So, did that old Daoist with the bull nose really die? This is a matter of great importance. Please tell me everything, benefactor," said Jian Dun.

If he wanted to know the answer, he had to tell the other party enough information.

In addition to concealing the so-called Heavenly Book he took away, Li Huowang told the monk everything that happened at Qingfeng Temple."Master, can Danyang Zi really become an immortal in that situation?"

With a slight lean forward, Li Huowang continued to ask with a serious expression, "Or perhaps, he became something else?"

A breeze blew by, rustling the golden leaves of the nearby ginkgo tree.

"Are you sure you heard Danyang Zi talking to you, my friend?" Chen Du confirmed with the same serious expression.

"Yes, absolutely. And it wasn't just a hallucination. There was also the abnormality of the god of joy," Li Huowang replied, recalling the scene with a hint of annoyance.

"That god of joy, who couldn't be looked at directly, was supposed to crawl out of the darkness and eat me, but his hidden body in the darkness seemed to have been pulled by something. Although there is no reason, I have a suspicion that it was Danyang Zi, the Danyang Zi who became an immortal."

After a moment of thought, Chen Du stood up with a serious expression. "Please wait a moment, my friend. This matter is of great importance."

Although he didn't say anything, his attitude had conveyed some information.

Li Huowang looked up at the clouds in the sky. "Sure enough, Danyang Zi's matter isn't so easily resolved."

Chen Du returned faster than Li Huowang had imagined, taking no more than half an incense stick's time. With a new string of Buddhist beads in his hand, he hurried back.

"Xuan Yang, please come this way. The abbot wants to see you in person."

After wandering through the temple for a while, Li Huowang finally arrived at a magnificent hall with eight open doors. Inside, he saw five huge and majestic golden Buddhas sitting cross-legged on lotus thrones with different postures.

On the cushion in front of the five Buddhas sat a monk in a robe, wearing a five-buddha hat similar to Tang Sanzang.

As Li Huowang walked in, he heard the monk chanting. Because the hall was spacious enough, the chanting even produced an ethereal echo.

Under the gaze of the five huge golden Buddhas, Li Huowang involuntarily slowed down his steps.

As the chanting stopped, the monk on the cushion turned slowly.

When Li Huowang saw the monk's appearance, he was surprised.

It was an old abbot with white eyebrows and beard, and what surprised him was not his exceptionally kind appearance, but his eyes.

They were a pair of pink eyes. After spending so much time together, Li Huowang could recognize them at a glance. He and Bai Lingmiao both suffered from albinism.

"Amitabha, the venerable Xin Hui welcomes you." With his hands clasped together, Xin Hui spoke calmly.

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"I am Xuan Yang, and I have seen the abbot." Li Huowang bowed and sat down in front of him.

"Abbot, about Danyang Zi—"

Before Li Huowang could finish his sentence, the abbot raised his hand to stop him.

"Xuan Yang, do you recognize the five Buddhas in this hall?"

Shaking his head, Li Huowang couldn't help feeling anxious. What did the abbot mean by bringing up something irrelevant?

"From the central Vajra World of Vairocana, the Eastern Pure Land of Akshobhya, the Southern World of Bliss of Amitabha, the Western Pure Land of Sukhavati of Amitabha, and the Northern Pure Land of Lotus Sutra of Mahavairocana, they are collectively known as the Five Tathagatas," Xin Hui explained as he gently stroked his long white beard.

Li Huowang couldn't help but feel even more anxious. What did the abbot mean by telling him all this?"Abbot, let's talk about this another time. May I ask what has become of Danyang Zi now?"

Xin Hui clasped her hands together and looked calmly at Li Huowang. "He has become a Buddha."